Demand For Increased Electric SUVs And Cars, Volvo Stops Sales Of Sedans And Wagons

Volvo S60. (Doc. Volvo Cars)

JAKARTA - Volvo Cars, a Swedish vehicle company known for presenting sedan-type cars and wagons with reliable capabilities, is undergoing a change in identity.

In line with the increasing demand for the SUV, Volvo is now considering focusing on producing utility cars alone. As a result, the sedan and wagon segments must be sacrificed.

Volvo officially decided to only sell SUVs in the UK, reported by Autocar on Wednesday, August 2. This action can be seen from the absence of models such as S60 sedans, as well as wagon V60 and V90 in the online sales list on the company's official website. Even so, it is still possible to make bookings through the dealers.

The S60 has actually been removed from last year's sales list in the context of an internal evaluation. However, this car has been restored for the medium term.

This step was not taken simply. The Volvo plant in South Carolina has undergone a transformation to provide production space for Volvo's electric SUV and its sister's Polestar brand, which is scheduled to be sold in 2024.

Meanwhile, the V60 and V90 wagons were also withdrawn from sales in the UK as part of a broader consolidation effort, following in the footsteps of the S90 large sedan that had previously been withdrawn from the market.

Not only in response to the shift to electrification, this decision is also related to the switch of Volvo to newer platforms and technologies. The focus on SUVs and electric cars today appears to have paid off, as evidenced by sales in the first quarter of 2023 which noted that the Volvo SUV is the most popular vehicle in the global market with a market share of 70 percent.

In the same period, sales of models such as S60 reached around 18,000 units, while V60 sold more than 16,000 vehicles, and V90 recorded 7,100 units. However, XC60's highest sales were achieved with a total of 106,000 units.

In addition to increasing demand for SUVs, sedan vehicles such as S60 and wagon V60 and V90 also experienced poor performance in the UK market. This is one of the reasons why Volvo decided to stop production of these products.

"The growing demand for our SUV lineup continues, while interest in fully electric models such as EX30 and EX90 is getting stronger," the manufacturer said in a statement.

With the end of sales of sedans and wagons, Volvo will now exclusively sell SUVs in the UK, including in this ranks XC40, C40 Recharge, XC60, and XC90.

As with the plan of many other car manufacturers, Volvo has also formulated a strategy to introduce more new electric vehicles by 2030.