Volvo has confirmed they are going SUV only as they remove all saloons and estates off sale to focus on high-demand models
The trusty Volvo wagon was a staple of the British automotive landscape, everyone and their (grand)dad’s had one. Now however, that is no longer as Volvo has confirmed its departure from their lineup, citing the V60, V90 and even the S60 saloon have been culled.
The move comes just 2 months after the V60 Cross Country, V90 Cross Country and S90 were all removed from sale. Surprisingly, the XC40 Recharge PHEV was also removed in the same ‘consolidation’ plan.
A Volvo representative has said that saloon and estate sales account for less than 10% of total sales in the UK. This is a simple case of supply and demand, which seems odd considering how many V and S models you actually see on the road.
Officially, Volvo has said that the appetite for those models has simply declined to unfeasible levels in the UK. They are rapidly moving into electrification “but also shifting to new platforms and technologies across all our cars.”
They continued: “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 lineup continues to grow, while interest in our forthcoming fully electric EX30 and EX90 models is strong.”
In March 2021, the Swedish brand said they are aiming to be fully electric by 2030 and become online-only sales. The small EX30 fully electric is due to be be released soon, adding yet another Volvo SUV to their lineup.
Sales of the company’s fully electric cars quadrupled compared to the same period last year. Its Recharge line-up of chargeable models, with a fully electric or plug-in hybrid powertrain, accounted for 37% of all Volvo cars sold globally during the month while the share of fully electric cars stood at 14%. However, this could also be attributed to the fact that the brand make more electric cars than ever before.
Either way, it is a sad day to see the removal of the humble estate from Volvo in favour of SUV’s, especially as they are actually very good vehicles.
Do you think this is inevitable for other brands too?
Yes, unfortunately we are seeing more and more of this type of thing happening
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