Volvo Aims to Push Future U.S. Models Upmarket

Volvo Car Corp. tells Automotive News it intends to boost sales by moving its products upmarket and aligning them more closely in performance and content with European competitors.

CEO Hakan Samuelsson says the higher prices that result will be justified in part by new styling and higher-grade content. "The company has no future if we are targeting mass-market products," he opines.

Samuelsson confirms to AN that the next-generation XC90 will incorporate styling cues from the Concept Coupe Volvo unveiled last week at the Frankfurt auto show.

Volvo's upmarket strategy will begin in 2015 with the debut of the redesigned XC90 crossover. The current model starts at $40,600 compared with a base price of $53,700 for the BMW X5 crossover.

Volvo, which sold 67,200 cars in the U.S. last year, ran 6% below that pace through the first eight months of 2013. Samuelsson says product redesigns and upgrade will enable the company to reach annual volumes in the U.S. of 100,000 units by 2020.