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From Swedespeed.com Volvo News Yesterday Ford announced an unexpected profit of $1 Billion for the third quarter, so we had to assume that the Blue Oval's fortunes have been good as of late. Still owned by the Dearborn Giant, Volvo's fortunes have continued to be good as well, with a number of months in a row now of sales increases over 2008. October continues that trend with an overall increase of 19.4 percent. This time last year, Volvo was reporting a depressing 3717 units moved, but this year that number is a promising 4437 vehicles. This is despite the end of S60 production, which essentially has robbed the brand of its sales leader until the replacement arrives next summer. Just 26 S60s were sold this past month, the last few of a very good run for the car. Of course, a new hero has stepped in to bolster sales, and the XC60 is continuing to see some growth in the market with 900 units sold this past month.
The XC90 also saw a pretty impressive month considering the age of the vehicle and the current demand for three-row sport-utilities. Last month, 882 were sold and this month, that number increased to 982, making it the best-selling Volvo in the month of October, narrowly edging out the XC60. The S40, which has been the sales leader for many of the recent months, has fallen to third with 911 sold (still a 61.9 percent increase over last year.) While the C30 has held strong at 317 units, the V50 also saw sales fall since last month. Is the fact that Volvo's larger cars are gaining while the smaller cars are losing a sign that we Americans are reverting back to our big car ways as the economy improves? We'll keep an eye on that in the coming months. Some credit for these strong sales has to go to Volvo of North America's Safe+Sound package, which provides free maintenance for 50,000 miles. We announced last month, but will repeat it now, that this great offer has been extended at least through the end of the year. Let's hope it keeps those dealers busy!
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