Does anyone have information regarding the mid-life redesign of the S80? I for one am interested to see what Volvo will do as I tend to see the current S80 as low-point in Volvo both inside and out. And judging from their poor sales, I'm not the only one.
Redesigned S80
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Sales results have nothing to do with the current design. There are other factors that have played a role in decresed sales.
Yannis
If poor sales have nothing to do with the design, what is causing them? I see very few S80s in my area, yet there is a plethora of S60s, S70s, and V70s. I don't even think the inclusion of a V8 would help boost sales much. The T6 has plenty of power compared to its German rivals, many of which are V8-powered.
I like the fact that the S80 is not in every garage. I for one like the way they look. Any redesign should build on the what they already have without trying to go more main stream. There are enough generic cars out there. Don't try to make Volvo join them.
Glen
Glen
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The S80, in its 1st year, outsold every car in its class except the E320. It even passed the BMW 5-series by the end of MY1999. So, if the design was the one affecting S80 sales the car would have never caught on to begin with. Unfortunately, for Volvo, MYs1998 and 1999 were not the best when it came to reliability and initial quality. That alone has hurt Volvo sales as MY1998 was a very long model year (1998s came out in February 1997!) so the plethora of customers who leased those cars movedto something else. I blame Volvo for the loss of those customers as it took THREE Model Years for them [Volvo] to realize that a great damage has been done. Now, they expect all of us [Retailers] to spend a lot of money to get these people back in the showroom. They [Volvo] are also going to spend a lot of money and energy to try to bring these people back. In MY1998, we practically had only one line to sell, S/V70s. The S/V90 line was on its death bed and gasping for one last breath. We broke all kinds of records! Now, with the best lineup EVER, we are struggling. Sure, the economy is bad but so is for everyone else. Volvo has the worst performance among the European brands (in terms of lost business).
The butt heads in Sweden and Rockleigh are going to pay a hefty price for this blunder, I am just going to be on the sideline and watch...
Yannis
Be careful about sales numbers for S80's in MY99. I had one of them, and they were everywhere because several large limo services were using the cars. They didnt work out well at all and after about 1.5yrs, they were pulled. The deal was that they would run about 30k and then returned and sold as used. These companies have yet to go back to Volvo, therefore something didnt work out very well. This was a very large number of the sales for that year and you will notice since 2001, the numbers have not been that high. As for reasons they are losing repeat customers, part is because the cars were just not inspiring. The competition is making inspiring vehicles... hell, the Caddy is even in the mix now with the CTS. The S80 is a very beautiful car, just needs something more to back it up.
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First of all, the only "limo" (not really but if you call it that way, oh well!) was Boston Coach. Their numbers were not that big albeit it they wre few thousand, that was it!
It's not that they didn't work out because of reliability or whatever but because the Boston {R}oach drivers were used to the big, fat American cars, such as Lincolns! Anyway, most of the drivers that I have net were in the "Offensive Tackle" weight range (280+lbs.) so I guess I don't blame them. But not the best "demographic" to appreciate a car like the S80.
Now, you throw in the....CTS? And comparing that piece of junk to the S80? Are you from this planet?
Have you driven the car? OK, it does handle better than any Cadillac I have driven before. But the engine should have more power, the quality of the materials are way below par compared to ANY European car offered here, even VW. The looks, well let's leave that aside because the car (IMO) is putrid. The interior is so GM it wants to make me throw up. The vents, for example, look like they were taken out of a Cavalier and put into that car...GROSS!
The S80 is a very beautiful car, sure it needs "something" but aren't all cars in need of that "something"? Some more than others.
Yannis
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Yannis,concerning a mid-life remake of the S80, the Executive has now been renamed for the 2003 model year the "Elite." Do you know if the 2003 Elite will have any major changes from the 2002 Executive? Am interested what the factory has planned for my new car!
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Best from Bavaria! Rick
Was there a MY 2002 Executive? I couldn't get my dealer to even give a price list for one. Sounds to me like Volvo are slowly disassembling MY 2003 S80's. Your probably one of those who ordered a 2002 AE and were told your order was cancelled. Then you were offered a MY 2003 Executive. Now your being told it will be called an Elite. Kinda takes the wind out of your "sales". Is this the kind of car company you want to give your $40,000?
I agree with Yannis that the S80's design has little to do with the lackluster sales for the car. The S80 is the only Volvo I've ever owned that consistently draws raves and inquiries from non-Volvo drivers. Unfortunately for Volvo, when people ask, I freely share the reality of the ownership experience with them.
The S80 was the first Volvo that was actually capable of capturing conquest and crossover sales from other makes, and Volvo managed to squander this opportunity. First of all lets review the Jan-Dec annual sales numbers of S80's as reported in Automotive News:
Volvo S80 Sales:
Year Sales % Change
1999 6,072 -
2000 28,995 478
2001 20,425 (29.6)
2002 *15,606 (23.6)
2000-2002 (41.0)
* Annualized based on sales thru June '02
The real reason for the dwindling sales is the dismal quality of the early cars, coupled with Volvo's response to fix them. When a manufacturer has serious, systemic design and build problems with a car, the way the manufacturer handles it presents an opportunity to either permanently galvanize the relationship, or wind up in divorce court. Fixing the problems would have involved an expensive service campaign to extensively rebuild the cars. Volvo reasoned that it would be less costly to just flush those early customers and let them go away, than it would have cost to fix the cars. They couldn't fix them quietly, because that would mean, 'secret warranty' and then the feds get involved. So Volvo made an active business decision to save money at their customer's expense, and this decision undoubtedly saved Volvo millions of dollars in the short run. Despite the fact that Volvo's own research demonstrated that it costs three times as much to attract new customers than it takes to retain the ones you already have, and that dissatisfied customers tell eleven other people, while satisfied customers only tell three, Volvo choose to chase the short money. Even that customer demographics for Volvo's flagship model showed that S80 customers were opinion leaders, educated, and overwhelmingly Internet savvy, Volvo decided to flush them for short-term interests. Volvo apparently failed to seriously consider that dissatisfied customers using the Internet portal could now access eleven million people in an instant to share their sorry experiences, and they had the tools to articulate their misery to potential customers.
The results include lackluster, diminishing sales, poor resale value, and ill will. An old car business maxim instructs, "there's an ass for every seat". Looks like these days Volvo's finding itself with more seats than there are asses.
If anyone is seriously considering buying a new XC-90 expecting that Volvo will be stepping up to the plate to do what's right to support the car, then you need to be convinced that the leopard has changed his spots, and that precedent is without merit. How many times does an abused spouse need to go back for another beating before realizing that they need to leave the S.O.B.?
The S80 was the first Volvo that was actually capable of capturing conquest and crossover sales from other makes, and Volvo managed to squander this opportunity. First of all lets review the Jan-Dec annual sales numbers of S80's as reported in Automotive News:
Volvo S80 Sales:
Year Sales % Change
1999 6,072 -
2000 28,995 478
2001 20,425 (29.6)
2002 *15,606 (23.6)
2000-2002 (41.0)
* Annualized based on sales thru June '02
The real reason for the dwindling sales is the dismal quality of the early cars, coupled with Volvo's response to fix them. When a manufacturer has serious, systemic design and build problems with a car, the way the manufacturer handles it presents an opportunity to either permanently galvanize the relationship, or wind up in divorce court. Fixing the problems would have involved an expensive service campaign to extensively rebuild the cars. Volvo reasoned that it would be less costly to just flush those early customers and let them go away, than it would have cost to fix the cars. They couldn't fix them quietly, because that would mean, 'secret warranty' and then the feds get involved. So Volvo made an active business decision to save money at their customer's expense, and this decision undoubtedly saved Volvo millions of dollars in the short run. Despite the fact that Volvo's own research demonstrated that it costs three times as much to attract new customers than it takes to retain the ones you already have, and that dissatisfied customers tell eleven other people, while satisfied customers only tell three, Volvo choose to chase the short money. Even that customer demographics for Volvo's flagship model showed that S80 customers were opinion leaders, educated, and overwhelmingly Internet savvy, Volvo decided to flush them for short-term interests. Volvo apparently failed to seriously consider that dissatisfied customers using the Internet portal could now access eleven million people in an instant to share their sorry experiences, and they had the tools to articulate their misery to potential customers.
The results include lackluster, diminishing sales, poor resale value, and ill will. An old car business maxim instructs, "there's an ass for every seat". Looks like these days Volvo's finding itself with more seats than there are asses.
If anyone is seriously considering buying a new XC-90 expecting that Volvo will be stepping up to the plate to do what's right to support the car, then you need to be convinced that the leopard has changed his spots, and that precedent is without merit. How many times does an abused spouse need to go back for another beating before realizing that they need to leave the S.O.B.?
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Rick,quote:
Originally posted by bavarianami:
Yannis,concerning a mid-life remake of the S80, the Executive has now been renamed for the 2003 model year the "Elite." Do you know if the 2003 Elite will have any major changes from the 2002 Executive? Am interested what the factory has planned for my new car!Best from Bavaria! Rick![]()
I am looking into it and I will let you know!
Yannis
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Your last sentence ir truly...GEEKY.
Yannis
"Geekiness" is in us all. Let the Geek out! No, seriously though. Volvo's are great cars...I can't wait until my 2002 AE errr 2003 Exec errr 2003 Elite comes in. Heck, if enough time goes by, my order might even change to a MY2004 S80R!
Yannis, your great. Cheers
Yannis, your great. Cheers
The information I received from Gothenburg via my dealer was that Volvo was having supply problems (or quality problems) with the rear seat DVD system. I am not sure if it was the screens or some other electronic component. Of course this could just be a cover story for something else, but with the state of the electronics industry, it is certainly possible.
Anyway, I was never fully deadset on the AE, and so when I was told they were not taking any more orders, I went with my original plan for the T6. Looking forward to going to Gothenburg next week to pick it up! But I know my wife is hoping to get a look at an XC90... doh!
Anyway, I was never fully deadset on the AE, and so when I was told they were not taking any more orders, I went with my original plan for the T6. Looking forward to going to Gothenburg next week to pick it up! But I know my wife is hoping to get a look at an XC90... doh!
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Yannis,
Any more word on the S80? I understand it will be equiped with InfraRed/NightVision?
A snowball chance in a hot place that feature will be applied to the S60
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Thanks.
John
Any more word on the S80? I understand it will be equiped with InfraRed/NightVision?
A snowball chance in a hot place that feature will be applied to the S60
Thanks.
John
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Don't hold your breath for that feature, at least not yet. That feature will not, also, be offered in the XC90 (at least for the time being).
Yannis
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