Yup it's high but I guess some will buy it. I just can't get over the fact that it will only have 4 seats!

 

It is a good thing. If it had 5 or 6 seats, you would be more attempted to spend too much money。

 

It's a chauffeur car.

It's not like they're going to price it so we poor people who can't afford chauffeurs can buy one.

 

This might just be me, but a Volvo would be just about the last brand on my list as a chosen chauffeur vehicle. 7-10 years from now? We'll see how well the brand has enhanced it's image..

Just because it comes with crystal and has writing tables does not mean that I want to be chauffeured around in it.

 

But here you are driving yourself around in a pedestrian Q7. How quaint.

 

I wouldn't have anyone chauffeur me around in a Q7, either

 

Chauffeured is a funny term for this. A lot of people have full-time drivers but it's not like they are in limousines or even particularly over the top cars.

 

Although it will probably sell well in China and the Middle East, I predict that ultimately this model will be deemed a failure not unlike the VW Phaeton.

 

Again, I do not think that Volvo is trying to make a killing with this Excellence iteration. Margins on it are likely very high, but volume will be low.

It's all about brand image and positioning. They had already spent the hunks of cash that it took to create the platform for the plain jane XC90 - tweaking it into the Excellence to continue their march upward in the industry was probably not a very hard decision to make to go along with their aggressive strategy.

 

I saw Volvo's display at the NY Auto Show this past Wednesday and Thursday and the car is stunning, as is the new S90 in person. Absolutely gorgeous quite honestly.

 

Just to add to the above, in case anyone is interested, I shared some pictures of the S90 in this thread from the NY Auto Show. Unfortunately, I didn't grab any of the Xc90's and other vehicles on display.

 

It's the crystal glasses.

 

Uber vehicles probably. Very few takers on the drivers car. The XC90 is a great vehicle, but its still way off from competing with the Land Rovers where the stamp on the front is very very important

 

Are you kidding? The dog would have a TON of room.

 

True but we really need the 3rd row! My daughter hates sitting in the middle between her brothers lol She already chose to sit in the 3rd row all by herself Plus those times when we are traveling to our summer trailer up north, we can never take any extra friends.

 

Would it be safe to assume that it's a T8?

 

Yes only comes with a T8 from what I read.

 

Ah, yes it is. As it should be.

 

Its perfect for the asian market as drivers are cheap.
My wife is Philippina and to have a driver there is about 10.000 peso or ~200euro/month
Its similar in China so i would think a car like this would do great, looking forward to see an S90L

 

You guys are lucky 106k $ is still cheaper than a full option t8 inscription in my country. The excellence is ?125k here. So around ?20k more than an inscription t8 with similar options that are available.

 

I was wondering to whom is this type of car aimed. If I am already in the state of having my own driver and enjoying the ride on the rear seats with champagne, I definitely would not go for XC90, but for Rolls-Royce, Daimler etc. which are in completely different quality league. If I mostly drive the car myself, I would not care about the comfort on the rear seats (unless I am employed as my boss' driver )

 

It's aimed at Land Rover Range Rover, Cadillac Escalade, and BMW X6M buyers, except it doesn't have the performance or badge to match. I'm sure the Volvo excels in the comfort and probably luxury feel department though.

 

No, it's not aimed at the X6M. No one buys an X6M to be driven around by someone else.

Chinese businessmen are the first target, but in the US there are no real "direct" competitors at the price point and in the "SUV" class. The Escalade and Range Rover LWB Supercharged don't have an executive seating package as far as I know. The Autiobiography versions of the RR offer this, but they are closer to the $150,000 and $200,000 price point. BMW's new X7 may be a direct competitor, especially if an activehybrid is offered.

Then there are chauffeur-worthy sedans. The Lexus LS 600h L has the closest powertrain among vehicles commonly chosen for this purpose, but it will cost closer to $130k. You have to "go big" to get the executive seating package in the A8 L - it's only offered with the W12 and that will run you $140k at minimum. The MB S550 can be had for around $100K with the executive seating package, but you can take that to nearly $200K with the V12 and Maybach versions. The new 7-series offers this kind of rear seating at under $100K though - you can have a 740i so equipped at around $100k out the door.

Then there's the top of the line. The Rolls Royce Phantom is well over $400K, I don't even know what the EWB version costs. And the Bentley Continental Flying Spur W12 Mulliner is... I don't know how much those cost, either. But it is worth noting that Volvo isn't really competing as much for the old money folks. Many of them are happy riding around in their classic Rolls and Bentley's which show off family legacy and aren't just about having the nicest and newest things in life.

Edit: Also realize that these vehicles are not always purchased by private individuals. They're often leased by businesses as security vehicles, driven by corporate security rather than a chauffeur, and used to get high level executives from one meeting to the next. The Maybach, RR SVAutobio, Rolls Royce, and Bentley might fly for a private with loads of money to spend, but the more affordable options are usually chosen when there's a corporate board to keep happy.

 

Edit: Also realize that these vehicles are not always purchased by private individuals. They're often leased by businesses as security vehicles, driven by corporate security rather than a chauffeur, and used to get high level executives from one meeting to the next. The Maybach, RR SVAutobio, Rolls Royce, and Bentley might fly for a private with loads of money to spend, but the more affordable options are usually chosen when there's a corporate board to keep happy.

Very good point.

This and bolinp's point about this being a statement vehicle are bang on. This does not have to sell in high volumes to be successful at achieving the objectives that Volvo has for this version of the car.

 

Sweet.

I must get two!!!

 

I'd love to rent one, for some occasions in life. There is probably also a business like this.

 

FYI, in Australia, with all the taxes etc, fully loaded XC90 T6 Inscription is about AUD$135K+
Based on current exchange rate, that is about USD$105K

It is crazy how much we pay for cars in here... :facepalm:

 

Not only for cars but for everything - I was there few months ago and it is unbelievable how expensive everything is in Australia (comparing to Europe or U.S.) ... no wonder that cars too

 

Passenger preference

I'd rather be a passenger in the xc90 Excellence than a driver. Would be nice if it was fully autonomous and I can just sit :wave:in the back while it drives me to work.

 

So looking at EU prices, we here in Canada have it pretty good I think! Prices are still very reasonable vs. US prices and taxes are still not as high as in EU but we do have great health care benefits, etc. For example, our loaded T8 MSRP was $85,900 CAD (not including freight or 13% provincial tax). Yearly licence plate sticker fee to drive a passenger car is only $108/yr (just went up was less).

 

There are significant economic differences that really make these kinds of comparisons worthless.

Want to guess what the average McDonald's employee makes in Denmark?

 

And my loaded XC90 T8 Inscription costs ~$130K in Sweden. So an Excellence for ~$110K sounds fair

 

Ok, but at the risk of further derailing this discussion, Europe as a whole is roughly the same size as the US, and has a little over twice the population. In general Europe has higher taxes on people, and in general, those taxes go more towards services for the people.

 

:hijack: Let's get back on track and continue this in its own off topic forum thread, someone can start it in there.