2003 Volvo VCC
The only difference is that Volvo insists it won’t be rushing into anything. With fears of another flop like the Phaeton, former Volkswagen of America boss Stefan Jacoby doesn’t want to repeat any mistakes at his new post as CEO of Volvo.
In keeping with this philosophy Jacoby admits that it’s “too early” for Volvo to be building high-end cars that would rival the likes of the BMW 7-series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. This is despite Geely founder and chairman Li Shufu previously mentioning those two particular models as future rivals for Volvo.Instead Volvo will focus on improving its global reputation, especially in China, and step up research and development efforts in order to maximize sales and return to profitability. Another key task is to build up volume. As Jacoby revealed in a recent interview with Autocar, Volvo would need to be selling at least 800,000 cars per year before any upmarket models would even be considered.
Pictured above is the 2003 Volvo VCC concept car, which at one point was believed to be a preview of a new flagship model to be called the XC100. It was expected to feature an advanced hybrid powertrain and establish a new luxury crossover niche similar to what BMW has done with the 5-Series GT and to a lesser extent what Mercedes-Benz originally did with the R-Class.
[Autocar]
We’ve heard it all before but rarely have we seen it executed successfully; mid-tier luxury brands attempting to move upmarket and compete with tier 1 brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Acura is one such company that has often stated reaching tier 1 status as its primary goal but has still failed to deliver and now Volvo, under the guidance of new owner Geely, is hoping to tread down that same path.
However, Volvo insists that it won’t be rushing into anything. With fears of another flop like the Phaeton, former boss of Volkswagen of America Stefan Jacoby doesn’t want to repeat any mistakes at his new post as CEO of Volvo.
In keeping with this philosophy Jacoby admits that it’s “too early” for Volvo to be building high-end cars that would rival the likes of the BMW 7-series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. This is despite Geely founder and chairman Li Shufu previously mentioning those two particular models as future rivals for Volvo.
Instead Volvo will focus on improving its global reputation, especially in China, and step up research and development efforts in order to maximize sales and return to profitability. Another key task is to build up volume. As Jacoby revealed in a recent interview with Autocar, Volvo would need to be selling at least 800,000 cars per year before any upmarket models would even be considered.
Pictured above is the 2003 Volvo VCC concept car, which at one point was believed to be a preview of a new flagship model to be called the XC100. It was expected to feature an advanced hybrid powertrain and establish a new luxury crossover niche similar to what BMW has done with the 5-Series GT and to a lesser extent what Mercedes-Benz originally did with the R-Class.
[Autocar]
