[RahulNagaraj]

According to media reports, Volvo will be discontinuing all its sedans & estate models to exclusively sell SUVs in the UK. The Swedish car brand is said to have already removed the S60, V60 and V90 from its online configurator, while the flagship S90 model was discontinued earlier this year.

The carmaker's South Carolina plant, which manufactures the S60, will soon be revamped to build electric SUVs for Volvo and Polestar, both of which will go on sale in 2024.



One of the reasons for Volvo's decision to discontinue sedans and estates is its global sales figures for the first half of 2023. As per reports, Volvo's most popular SUV, the XC60, single-handedly outsold its entire sedan and estate range numbers by a massive margin of nearly 70%. The Volvo S90 recorded 23,000 units of sales, while the S60, V60 and V90 registered 18,000 units, 16,000 units and 7,100 units, respectively. On the other hand, the Volvo XC60 managed to sell 1,06,000 units.

With the discontinuation of all sedans and estate cars, Volvo's UK model line-up now opens with the XC40 and C40 Recharge, followed by the XC60 and XC90. As part of Volvo's commitment to offering a pure-EV range by 2030, it will be introducing the EX30 later this year, with the EX90 scheduled for 2024 and a XC60 successor expected in 2025.

Volvo even released a statement in response to this. The company said, “We continue to rapidly transform our product offer, which means not only moving towards full electrification but also shifting to new platforms and technologies across all our cars. We will naturally need to evolve and consolidate our line-up as we prioritise fully electric cars and make this technological transition.

"As a result, we have removed further models from the UK line-up. These include the S60, V60 and V90. Demand for our existing SUV line-up continues to grow, while interest in our forthcoming fully electric EX30 and EX90 models is strong. Meanwhile, appetite for our saloon and estate models has fallen to very low levels in the UK, which has led to our decision to remove these models from sale in the UK.”

Source: Autocar UK

Link to Team-BHP news

[Abhisheknott]

Interesting to see how this will this affect the ESG score/compliance of the company.
Sad to see drop in sedan sales all over.

[Maky]

That's very unfortunate to hear. I imagine after the UK the pattern will follow for rest of the world, from what I recall they discontinued one of the two sedans they were selling in India a recent while ago as well.

Too bad.. Volvo sedans have had the sexiest interior of any car.

[GTO]

Luxury sedans still sell in enormous volumes worldwide - cars from the 3-Series to the S-Class and everything in between are proof of that. But sedans are losing out to crossovers, while the latter have fatter profit margins.

Volvo doesn't have the R&D budget of Mercedes, BMW or Audi (thanks to the VAG group). Between future products & electrification, it has to spend its R&D money wisely. Hence, its focus on profitable products.

There's also the question of focus & management / engineering bandwidth. We will all remember how Ford dumped everything non-truck & non-SUV in the USA (except for the Mustang).

[Mystic]

Very sad to know about this decision by Volvo to discontinue station wagons. This is an age of crazy infatuation towards SUVs. I grew up as a child seeing Volvo station wagons of 1970s with their 200 series. The impression that I had about these cars in my mind even today is that they are the safest cars on this planet.Once one of our family friends who was was a Doctor came to our house directly from show room after taking delivery and asked us to join him for a fun drive. He was cruising at 200 Kmph in early 1970s and I was just in awe at the way the car is handling and rock solid at those speeds. I have seen many Volvos in the recent past and nothing can come even close to those days. The huge bumpers for the cars give you an impression that even if it hits a solid wall, the wall will break and nothing happens to your car.

[ajmat]

Actually Volvo are still making the S90 and V90 only they no longer make the RHD versions. These are still available in Europe. These will be phased out eventually

[Iconoclast]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Actually Volvo are still making the S90 and V90 only they no longer make the RHD versions. These are still available in Europe. These will be phased out eventually

That is really sad. The S90 is without a doubt, one of the classiest cars I've been fortunate to see on our roads. Hope they don't phase it out completely.

[anjan_c2007]

Since Geely Motors ( Geely Holding Group) has a major shareholding and it is Chinese, they look for profits and not for anyone's passion. Nor by keeping track of their history as they had started with sedans way back with the OV 4 in 1927 at Gothenburg, Sweden. The production remains though at the same place, but core decisions emanate from Shanghai.

The S 60 and S 90 are destined to become history. This move was preplanned as no EV versions of any sedan has been launched with their XC series Recharge (SUV) EV launches.

Comparatively, MG also suffers the same fate. A traditional sports car maker since Day One, they too appear to have bid bye bye to sports cars, now relegated to history with the last one MG TF (1995-2011). This brand under SAIC, China, makes some hatchbacks, sedans and mainly SUV's ( though "Sports" is and integral part of the expanded phrase from the abbreviation SUV) aimed at making money. MG makes a minibus also available as ambulances. The MG mini truck may not be far away.

[L8ButV8]

Volvo's product line up is getting old and needs an overhaul. Their flagships (S90, XC90) and mid range (S60, XC60) haven't undergone significant revamps over the past decade. Now Volvo needs to invest in a lot of fronts: (a) redo the top end ICE cars, (b) carry the improvements down to mid range ICE cars, (c) electrify all these models, (d) enter new, lowers price bands (e.g EX 30) to fight Tesla & (e) build autonomous tech-- the new frontier of safety (Volvo's core value prop). There might be more that I'm missing.

That's simply too much to invest in at one time, and the move to prioritize SUVs focuses efforts/investments towards where growth and profit potential are highest. In hindsight, Mercedes has done a commendable job at continuous improvement across multiple fronts over the years.

[Sedate]

The Volvo estate cars are a staple for farmers and villagers in UK. May be this is akin to the death of agricultural and rural life in UK. The rich farmer buys land rover, while a sensible one buys a volvo.

Hope the used car prices will come down with this announcement - I was eyeing a V60 estate. Loads of space and fantastic handling.