Tråd: Volvo: kan du fortælle det endnu?

Volvo er i gang med en anden global re-lancere, men det kan ikke lykkes, indtil det virkelig træffer beslutning om, hvad det står for. Hvis jeg blev bedt om at definere den største hurdle over Volvo, det er ikke, at selskabet har et image problem, er det, at det har et problem med sit image. Volvo, du kan argumentere for, har et image, at det lige så fast og urokkelig som den svenske måde at gøre tingene på.
Svenskerne bestemmes som General Motors fundet med dens katastrofale ejerskab af Saab, viljestyrke til at gøre ting deres egen måde, overbevist om, at alle med tiden vil komme til deres synspunkt. Mens dette gør for en glat-running samfund, gør det tingene vanskelige når du prøver at sælge biler til resten af verden.
For at være fair, når Volvo kan godt finde på at gøre noget uventet, er det ikke altid får den fortjente reaktion. For tyve år siden, når virksomheden har visket tavlen ren og relanceret sig selv med 850-serie, som blev front-drevet og drevet af fem-cylindrede motorer, er det også lanceret T5 og T5R high-performance godser. I STORBRITANNIEN, hvor Volvos adstadig billede, der er hårdest at flytte, virksomheden selv kørte 850 ejendom biler i British Touring Car Championship.
Når dækkets støv ryddet, Volvos image som producent af solid, meget sikre men kedelige familie biler havde næppe ændret sig. Når den smukke C30 ankom, Volvos BRITISKE forhandlere fundet det tiltrak potentielle købere, der så kunne få sig selv til at underskrive på den stiplede linje. Det syntes par ønskede at forklare deres naboer, hvorfor de havde købt en ikke-familie Volvo, sådan er den indgroede opfattelse af brandet i det forenede KONGERIGE.
Den XC90 var en anden sag, der alle sammen. Det, der tilbydes syv sæder, sikkerhed og SUV sex appeal i en pakke, der er masser af mennesker, der kunne se sig selv at eje. Parkeret uden for huset, den XC90 talte for sig selv. Som gjorde XC60, der i øjeblikket virksomhedens bedst sælgende model.
Sidste år var jeg meldte sig frivilligt til et marked forskningsprogram, der leder til premium bilmærker og jeg tilbragte nogen tid waffling i en video, kamera om Volvos stor mulighed for at ændre sit image ' et én gang for alle. Med den succes, de forskellige XC-modeller, helt sikkert Volvo kunne sælge sig selv som den slags bil, der er købt af den slags udendørs entusiast, der er brugt gode penge på high-end ski eller en range-topping mountain bike? Målet for de mennesker, der har en 250 Gore-Tex jakke, sagde jeg.
Uanset mit råd, jeg blev overrasket over at se 2014-model, XC60 sidste uge i Göteborg. Det var blevet frataget sin beklædning og robust appel og er nu malet alle en farve og bærer en stor krom stribe på dens lavere døre. Den nye XC60 har et urbant twist sagde designer. Det er "city sleek". Vi har taget det ud af skoven.
Hvorfor? Volvo chefer fortalte mig, at den ændring, der blev anmodet om af kunder, som gav ingen mening for mig, da det var blevet firmaets bedste sælger i skikkelse af en robust SUV. 95 procent af drivere aldrig gå off-road, sagde de. I virkeligheden, måske ser vi den indflydelse af det enorme Kinesiske marked, hvor bilister sjældent vove sig ud af deres egen megacity.
Desværre, Volvo ikke får løftet op i premium brand boom i de sidste 15 år, og i øjeblikket sælger 420,000 biler på verdensplan - en stærk kontrast til Audis 1. 45m eller så. Volvo ønsker at ramme og 800.000 enheder, kort efter 2020. Theres ingen grund til, hvorfor det ikke fordi, for mine penge, Volvos er premium-niveau køretøjer. Men indtil Volvo virkelig beslutter, hvem og hvad det handler om, at udviklingen vil fortsætte med at være langsom.

Volvo is embarking on another global re-launch, but it can't succeed until it really decides on what it stands for. If I was asked to define the biggest hurdle facing Volvo, its not that the company has an image problem, its that it has a problem with its image. Volvo, you might argue, has a brand image that it as fixed and unyielding as the Swedish way of doing things.
As General Motors found with its disastrous ownership of Saab, the Swedes are doggedly determined to do things their own way, convinced that everyone will eventually come around to their point of view. While this makes for a smooth-running society, it makes things difficult when you are trying to sell cars to the rest of the world.
To be fair, when Volvo does occasionally do something unexpected, it doesnt always get the deserved reaction. Twenty years ago, when the company wiped the slate clean and re-launched itself with the 850-series, which was front-drive and powered by five-cylinder engines, it also launched the T5 and T5R high-performance estates. In the UK, where Volvos staid image is hardest to shift, the company even raced 850 estate cars in the British Touring Car Championship.
When the tyre dust cleared, Volvos image as the manufacturer of solid, very safe but unexciting family cars had hardly changed. When the pretty C30 arrived, Volvos UK dealers found it attracted potential buyers who then couldnt bring themselves to sign on the dotted line. It seemed few wanted to explain to their neighbours why they had bought a non-family Volvo, such is the entrenched view of the brand in the UK.
The XC90 was a different issue all together. It offered seven seats, safety and SUV sex appeal in a package that plenty of people could see themselves owning. Parked outside your house, the XC90 spoke for itself. As did the XC60, currently the companys best-selling model.
Last year I volunteered for a market research programme looking into premium automotive brands and I spent some time waffling into a video camera about Volvos great opportunity to change its image once and for all. With the success of the various XC models, surely Volvo could sell itself as the sort of car bought by the sort of outdoor enthusiast who spent good money on high-end skis or a range-topping mountain bike? Aim for the people who have a 250 Gore-Tex jacket, I said.
Regardless of my advice, I was amazed to see the 2014-model XC60 last week in Gothenburg. It had been stripped of its cladding and rugged appeal and is now painted all one colour and wears a large chrome strip on its lower doors. The new XC60 has an urban twist said the designer. It is city sleek. We have taken it out of the forest.
Why? Volvo bosses told me that the change was demanded by customers which made no sense to me as it had become the companys best-seller in the guise of a rugged SUV. 95 percent of drivers never go off-road they said. In reality, perhaps we are seeing the influence of the huge Chinese market, where drivers rarely venture out of their own megacity.
Sadly, Volvo did not get lifted up in the premium brand boom of the last 15 years and currently sells 420,000 cars globally - a stark contrast to Audis 1. 45m or so. Volvo wants to hit 800,000 units shortly after 2020. Theres no reason why not because, for my money, Volvos are premium-level vehicles. But until Volvo really decides who and what it is about, progress will continue to be slow.