Volvo Cars of North America's CEO Tony Nicolosi recently sat down with Automotive News and said the company wants to have one percent of the American marketplace within the five years. That represents around 150,000 to 160,000 vehicles. A bit ambitious considering the brand only sold 61,000 vehicles last year. To help reach this goal, the company plans on launching a product offensive that begins early next year with the XC90.
"Once you see us get to XC90 next March, doors open and in dealerships, you will see a new product launch on an annual basis -- and sometimes less than every year. Within six months of the XC90 launch, we will have a plug-in hybrid version. We have told our dealers that by the end of 2017, the XC90 will be the oldest car in their showroom," said Nicolosi.
Nicolosi also talked about Volvo's new Drive-E engine family, which are all four-cylinders that feature turbo or turbo/supercharging. He said the new family will appear in all Volvo models except the upcoming XC90.
"It is no longer about cylinders; it is about performance and fuel economy. We can achieve the performance of a six- and eight- with a four-cylinder engine. The days of counting cylinders are behind us."
As the V40, Nicolosi said the company has no plans on bringing the current one over, but could reconsider when the new one is due out in a couple years.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.