Volvo Car Corporation is approaching Paris Motor Show in September with the confidence of a winner.
The sales figures so far indicate that 2004 will be a record year with a total of 450.000-460.000 new Volvos rolling out of the plants.
Now, Volvo will gain even more muscle by revealing the company’s first V8 powertrain ever in the Volvo XC90 at the Paris Motor Show.
A continuous growth in North America accompanied by positive sales figures on a number of important European markets, including Germany, France, UK and Italy, are the main reasons for Volvo’s success during 2004.
“We are also happy to see that our strong product portfolio and Volvo’s values are attracting more and more customers on emerging markets in Asia and Eastern Europe. China is one excellent example”, says Hans-Olov Olsson, President and CEO at Volvo Car Corporation.
Volvo XC90 an ongoing success story
The Volvo XC90 is still a success with production capacity raised to 90,000 units since the spring of 2004. But the award-winning SUV gets healthy competition from the new Volvo S40 and Volvo V50. Both cars have enjoyed a very positive reception since their introductions in 2003.
“In May 2004, we also introduced major refinements to the Volvo S60, Volvo V70 and Volvo XC70. These three models are extremely important to us, representing some 40 percent of our total sales volume”, says Hans-Olov Olsson.
Impressing success in France
France, the host of the Paris Motor Show, is one of the true sucess stories for Volvo Car Corporation.
The total car sales figures in France are still slighly down this year – but Volvo has managed to run extremely fast in spite of this.
During the first eight months of 2004, 7.720 Volvos were registered in France, compared with 5.763 vehicles for the same period last year. This represents an increase with 35 percent, mainly thanks to the successful launch of the new S40 and V50.
May is the best month so far, with an increase of 96 percent.
Volvo is modern and dynamic
“Everything is going our way at the moment. We have a dedicated and motivated dealer network. The new cars in our product portfolio are a perfect fit for this market. And on top of this, our new marketing approach has demonstrated that Volvo is not only about safety and reliability. We have also proved that we are a modern and dynamic company”, says Maria Stenström, Managing Director of Volvo Automobiles France. She adds:
“Keeping our strong core values, we have successfully added a smart and modern design, high technology features and driving pleasure. One of our Internet campaigns, the eight minute film “The Mystery of Dalarö” has generated more than 300.000 French hits on www.volvocars.com and the film has been awarded this year’s “Grand Prix des Stratégies Medias” by the magazine “Stratégies””
Celebration in Paris
Volvo will celebrate this year’s global and local success with a “Made in Sweden” party in the very heart of Paris, at the Champs-Elysées, on 22nd of September.
During the evening, Volvo Automobiles France will renew its commitment to the child charity organisation Enfants de la Terre. Maria Stenström will hand over a Volvo XC90 to the organsiation, which is represented by Marie-Claire and Yannick Noah.
50220/HÅ
