Volvo , a luxury brand occupying the right time, place and people, why has it gradually become marginalized in five years? Volvo used to be compared with Cadillac and Lexus , but now the prospects are getting bleak! What has this "Chinese brand" done wrong in the past few years? Volvo's seven "sins", today we will count them one by one~
In 2010, Geely 100% acquired Volvo, which not only made this famous luxury car brand with a history of nearly 100 years a "Chinese brand" , but also made Volvo jump out of the long-term Cold reception, stagnant ford quagmire.
From 2014 to 2016, Volvo's flagship model XC90 was finally replaced, and the new S90 replaced the old S80, which was Volvo's best years. In terms of products, the new model has been recognized by the market, Scandinavian The design is popular, and the Quake headlights have become a classic.
As for the market, a brand-new team of car market marketing elites has been assembled, and with the emotional support of Chinese people, sales and popularity are also rapidly increasing, and Volvo cars have gradually become a common sight in Chinese cities.
However, just when people thought that this "Chinese luxury brand", which is full of strong feelings and hopes of the Chinese people, would soar to the sky, the reality was not as expected. In the following five years, Volvo has been stagnant at No. 6 in the sales list of Chinese luxury brands. The awkward position of 7th.
Although in terms of net sales, Volvo has more than doubled from more than 80,000 units to 170,000 units in five years.
But you need to know that these are the years of explosive growth in China's luxury car market. During this period, the sales of Mercedes-Benz increased from 370,000 to 770,000, while Volvo's two old rivals, Lexus and Cadillac's net increase also increased. reached 150,000 vehicles.
From a more intuitive market share point of view, in the past five years, Volvo's market share has increased by only 0.5%, which is basically the same.This is not only far lower than Mercedes-Benz's 1.84%, Lexus' 2.03% and Cadillac's 2.17% , Even in the Chinese market for two years, Lincoln, which is outside the top ten, has achieved an increase of 1.12%, which is more than twice that of Volvo.
The numbers are not the most embarrassing. When visiting the market, more and more car buyers remove Volvo from the luxury brand menu; even if you ask car owners who buy Volvo, the reasons for buying a car are often: "cheap" and "big discount" and many more. A luxury brand that occupies the right time, place, and people, why has it gradually become marginalized in five years. Try it for you today.
First, the model is single, the update is slow, and the design is serious.
For most luxury brands, the market share of a single model is often less than 20%, while Volvo's XC60 and S90, the total sales last year accounted for Volvo's sales. 70%.
It's not that these two cars are so good. It's really that Volvo's current product lineup is too "slim". There are only three SUVs, XC90, XC60 and XC40, and only S60 and S90 sedans. In addition, there are only basic sales left. Negligible two derived wagons V60 and V90. It is worth mentioning that these cars alone cannot keep pace with their rivals.
As the mid-size sedan in the luxury car market, the S60 did not start to be replaced until 2018, and the previous generation has a life cycle of up to 10 years.
What makes it difficult for many car buyers to accept is that the design of Volvo's entire line of models is seriously homogenized, especially the interior. From the flagship seven-seat SUV XC90 to the family compact sedan S60, the interior design, structure, style, and even The materials are basically the same.
Someone posted the screenshots of Volvo's entire interior, and it is said that even car owners and fans can't tell the difference. This "lazy and trouble-free" approach is very different from the car buying trend that focuses on individualization and differentiation. It is no wonder that the later Volvo launches models, the more difficult the sales will be. It is really aesthetic fatigue .
Second, fight against mainstream consumption and reject the trend of youth
Volvo Cars' current president of Greater China Sales, Qin Peiji, once told media : "Being a brand is not about giving what others want", "The opportunity lies in , we're going to do what we're supposed to do."
So, when Mercedes-Benz announced at this Shanghai auto show that the wheelbase of the new generation of C-class was lengthened by 34 mm again, reaching 2954 mm, when the wheelbase of mainstream mid-level luxury sedans has exceeded 2950 mm, Volvo S60 still sticks to The standard axle, the wheelbase is less than 2 meters 9.
S60 not only can not give you the large space in the back row, but also the popular colorful atmosphere lights and the cool open car engine system.
It is worth mentioning that, as the latest Volvo S60 launched in 2018, it is almost exactly the same as the XC90 vehicle system 7 years ago. The interface is simple and there are only a handful of apps that can be installed, and it has never been updated or added for many years. Not even mainstream Android phones support the connection.
Volvo may also be disdainful of young people. Although most car brands have been busy changing the image of "uncle" in recent years, and their products and marketing have been fully rejuvenated, but it does not seem to include Volvo. Qin Peiji also told the media: "No matter how young people are, they will eventually There is a moment of maturity, and there is a more stable vision" "You don't buy it now, just haven't bought it yet"!
Well, it's not that you don't know how to appreciate Volvo, it's that you are not old.
Thirdly, it is out of sync with overseas, and despising
in the Chinese market as a "Chinese brand", which should be the last thing Volvo should do. But the fact is really slap in the face: At present, many models sold by Volvo overseas do not enter the Chinese market.
For example, performance models like Polestar Engineered are defined as unsuitable for Chinese consumers, so forget it; even the T6 dual-supercharged version of mainstream models has gradually withdrawn from the domestic version of the pedigree, which is a bit difficult to understand.
And what is even more puzzling is that is treated differently even in the Chinese market. For example, the above models can be purchased in Taiwan, China.
In addition, Volvo's new car update, the Chinese version is always far later than overseas. For example, the XC60 B series with the addition of a 48-volt mild hybrid has already been launched overseas. However, at this Shanghai Auto Show, this car is only its first appearance in China, and the official launch needs to wait. So, people can't help but ask, Volvo, are you really a "Chinese brand"?
Fourth, the terminal price is diving, second-hand residual value is at the bottom
The most "talking about" topic in the communication between new Volvo owners is how much cheaper you bought a car? The experience of car owners: the discount of 80,000-100,000 is quite normal. If you buy it below this number, you will be expensive.
Although the competition in the luxury car market is fierce, discounts are commonplace, but such “self-harm discounts” are rare across the board like Volvo: the flagship XC90 with an original price of nearly 700,000, easily landed at more than 500,000; the C-class sedan S90, 30 Duo Wan is easy to get, and basically there is no need to bargain; even the S60 with a price of only 300,000 has a book discount of more than 60,000 yuan, and it is directly 20% off.Such a crazy result of "exchanging price for quantity" has not only caused Volvo's price system to collapse across the board, and its brand value has plummeted, but also made the discussion of "is Volvo a luxury brand" a hot topic on the Internet. In the second-hand car market, Volvo is recognized as one of the luxury car brands with the most depreciation and the lowest residual value. Second-hand merchants even dare not accept some cars with low sales.
In the end, Chinese car owners who bought Volvo had to ask three questions from their souls before paying: "Am I buying a luxury sedan?", "Has the price discount really dropped to the end?", "How can I transfer the car in the future?" What to do?"
Fifth, disregarding car owners and throwing the blame for quality problems
In the minds of many people, Volvo is not only the safest car brand, but also one of the most reliable car brands. But is it really so?
As early as 2019, according to the report of the car quality complaint website car quality website , the Volvo XC60 had a month-on-month increase of 561% in complaints, ranking runner-up in the complaint list.
Among the related complaints, accounts for the highest proportion of Volvo's "low frequency resonance" problem , which has been popular all over the Internet. As early as the new XC60 was launched soon, some car owners complained that due to the design flaws of the exhaust system, the idling speed or low speed When the vehicle is damaged, the low-frequency noise and resonance of the whole vehicle will appear, and under the long-term effect, the occupants in the vehicle will experience obvious physiological discomfort such as ear pressure, dizziness, headache and nausea.
Regarding this complaint, Volvo has always adopted an attitude of not acknowledging, not recalling, and not resolving it, so that in the past few years, more and more car owners and media have been complaining, and it has finally become a network-wide incident.
It is worth mentioning that in the new 2021 models, Volvo quietly increased the exhaust pipe control valve to alleviate this problem. However, for the huge number of old car owners, they still choose to ignore and perfunctory.
Sixth, the propaganda effect of "replacing salt" by a star who spends a lot of money is embarrassing.
But on the other hand, Volvo shows its "big money" from time to time. In the past two years, in the shrinking outdoor car advertising circle, Volvo has become a gold medal advertiser, and no matter the size of the outdoor advertising medium, it is exposed to rain and dew. very broad.
What is even more powerful is the endorsement. In recent years, Jeremy Lin, Lang Lang, Peng Yuyan , Gao Xiaosong , Li Jian have all endorsed Volvo models. The most exaggerated thing about
is that only the XC40, a small SUV, has several spokespersons for Wang Luodan , Lin Chiling , and Hua Chenyu.
However, top stars did not bring "top stream" sales, especially the XC40, which was packaged and endorsed by many stars, has a monthly average number of less than 2,000 vehicles for a long time.
Seventh, electrification is too slow, lack of understanding of the status quo .
However, 2025 is not too far away. In the Chinese market, currently has only one pure electric model, the XC40 Recharge, which is powered by gasoline.
At this Shanghai Auto Show, both domestic brands and other luxury brands have sounded the horn to conquer the city, and the debut of pure electric new cars is dazzling, but Volvo's main display car is still a fuel car that has been sold for many years. The annual facelift of the XC60 is really worrying and unpredictable.
What is even more incomprehensible is Volvo's fascinating personnel changes under the huge market pressure in recent years. In 2020, Yuan Xiaolin, president and CEO of Volvo Cars Asia Pacific, will have 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, and has worked in Ms. Che Yanhua, who is in charge of marketing for Volkswagen, Infiniti, Jaguar Land Rover and other car brands, was transferred to Polestar. So far, Volvo's daily power is basically concentrated in the hands of Qin Peiji.
From Qin Peiji's personal resume, after joining Volvo in 2011, he was the vice president of Volvo Greater China Sales and Dealer Network, and the Chief Operating Officer of the Greater China Sales Company. Internet, and did not find its market and brand, product marketing experience.
What does Chin Peiji think of Volvo's current situation? In an interview with the media at the end of 2020, Chin Peiji said confidently and persistently: "Volvo is one of the most powerful brands in the Chinese market." Well, but May what he wants to express is self-confidence and a better vision for the future, not a kind of self-narcotics.
Come on, Volvo! The name and face of a "Chinese luxury brand" are really important.
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