FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Volvo and ATP Oil & Gas Join Forces in Unprecedented Employee Incentive Program: Give Away 39 New Volvos
Having met ambitious goals, ATP employees will take European delivery of their new Volvos
Irvine, CA (April 7, 2006) - What happens when you challenge your employees to meet an ambitious growth plan by offering to give them all a new Volvo? Answer: A lot of very motivated people. Volvo Cars of North America, LLC (VCNA), announced today that 39 new 2006 Volvo vehicles will be given to the employees of ATP Oil & Gas Corporation (NASDAQ: ATPG) by their employer as part of an incentive plan that was announced last year. Further, ATP employees have the opportunity to pick up their new Volvos in Europe.
Offered through Volvo's popular European Delivery program, U.S. ATP employees receive two airline tickets aboard SAS Airlines, lodging at the SAS Radisson hotel, a trip to the Volvo factory delivery center at the Swedish automakers headquarters in Gothenburg where ATP employees will pick up their new cars and take a customized driving tour of Southern Sweden. ATP European employees will receive their vehicles in their respective countries.
"This is the first time Volvo has hosted such a large delivery event," noted Johan Rasmusson, manager of the Volvo Overseas Delivery program in the U.S. "Delivering 39 cars at once is 45 percent more than what we do on a normal day at the factory in Gothenburg."
It will be all hands on deck this June at Volvo's headquarters in Sweden when 40 ATP employees and their travel companions get the keys to their new cars. Following the delivery the group will enjoy a day of driving through Sweden's beautiful southern coastal region. "We want the ATP employees to enjoy the advantages that all of our Volvo Overseas Delivery customers experience," said Rasmusson.
The key to the Overseas Delivery Program is that it offers a vehicle purchase program for the US market that is superior to the competition, which explains why the program is coming off its best sales year in company history. Sales for 2005 were up 6.2 percent over 2004, selling 2,472 units. By comparison, Mercedes-Benz sold 1,216 units, BMW 2,666 and Saab just 198 vehicles through their respective European delivery programs.
What users find is that the Volvo Overseas delivery program offers an eight percent discount off the purchase price of the vehicle. Through the program, buyers in the U.S. of any new 2006 Volvo receive two free round-trip SAS airline tickets to Europe where they may take delivery of their car at any one of 12 designated locations. Deliveries taken in Volvo's home city of Gothenburg, Sweden, will have the added luxury of a complimentary night's lodging at the SAS Radisson Hotel in Gothenburg.
VCNA, part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden, provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States, and oversees Volvo operations in Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Volvo has been building cars with safety in mind for over 75 years. The 2006 Volvo Cars model line-up includes: the award-winning new S40 and its wagon counterpart the all-new V50; the award-winning XC90; the sporty S60 sedan – including the award-winning performance sedan – S60 R and the performance wagon version – V70 R; the flagship S80 luxury sedan; versatile V70 wagon and the rugged XC70 (Cross Country). In spring Volvo will begin selling the all-new C70 with is unique three-piece retractable hardtop and seating for four adults.
About ATP Oil & Gas Corporation
ATP Oil & Gas is a development and production company of natural gas and oil in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea. The company trades publicly as ATPG on the NASDAQ National Market.
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Volvo Contact Information:
James Hope
Product Communications
Volvo Cars of North America, LLC
(800) 970-0888
