Volvo mulls moving upmarket despite being in the red

With Jaguar and Land Rover half way out the door Volvo is poised to become the sole remaining brand in Ford’s crumbling Premier Auto Group. It’s also the only brand within Ford that could potentially cover the gaping hole left by the premium British marques. Officials are now considering repositioning Volvo as a global premium carmaker but doing so may end up hurting Ford more than it helps.

Volvo has managed to drive down costs, boost efficiency and increase sales over the past twelve months but its operations are still running at a loss, reports Automotive News. Ford doesn’t release individual figures for Volvo but it’s believed to have lost more than $100 million in the previous quarter.

Rather than attempting to compete with the likes of Mercedes and BMW, Volvo would be better off focusing on differentiating itself through hybrid and alternative-fuel technologies. It’s already shown what’s possible with the ReCharge plug-in concept but the low popularity of hybrids in Europe could also potentially prove to be a major hindrance.