[swinee]

ya, quite agreed with you on this, pick 1-2 model good model, and make it a mass products with good price, good performance, value for money.

I don't really know what volvo stand for, for me, it's just stand for safety, that's it, but nowaday consumer don't just want safety.. they want everything into a good package with good price point.

for safety i can also get a good korean car which has 5 star in all the crash test, that's good enough, why need so advance till it can auto stop when about to hit people ? and we don't do it every day...

I think they overbuilt the safety features that people don't want to pay for.

i dun they are overly build..
-who would have think that a 3 point safety belt is needed if not Volvo?
-who would have think that a ISOFIX is needed for childseat?
-who would have think that ABS is required during emergency?
-who would have think that IC airbags is needed for side protection?
-who would have think that SIPS is needed for a safety cage?
no one would have think that it is necessary during the early 80's or 90's , but this equipment is almost a mandatory for today motorings and in fact all manufacturing are following it to build a safe car..

the list still going on where newer technologies from passive safety to active safety to pedestrian safety..thats y Volvo is leading the role and pioneering in this field..
so now we got BLIS/ACC/City safety/Auto braking...etc..
YES for now u might think that it is unecessary..but who knows in the upcoming 2020??

over in MY at least till now u dun get a 5 stars Korean make, for the likes of Hyundai YF, it only have 2 airbags for the top of the range 2.4L , how could it achieve a 5 stars ENCAP with that where for the same privce u get a fully equipped S40

[tpl]

i dun they are overly build..
-who would have think that a 3 point safety belt is needed if not Volvo?
-who would have think that a ISOFIX is needed for childseat?
-who would have think that ABS is required during emergency?
-who would have think that IC airbags is needed for side protection?
-who would have think that SIPS is needed for a safety cage?
no one would have think that it is necessary during the early 80's or 90's , but this equipment is almost a mandatory for today motorings and in fact all manufacturing are following it to build a safe car..

the list still going on where newer technologies from passive safety to active safety to pedestrian safety..thats y Volvo is leading the role and pioneering in this field..
so now we got BLIS/ACC/City safety/Auto braking...etc..
YES for now u might think that it is unecessary..but who knows in the upcoming 2020??

over in MY at least till now u dun get a 5 stars Korean make, for the likes of Hyundai YF, it only have 2 airbags for the top of the range 2.4L , how could it achieve a 5 stars ENCAP with that where for the same privce u get a fully equipped S40

as long as can achieve our 5star MYCAP ok d... lol

[Newkelisa]

For all the criticism pointed at volvo business the latest figures shows they are doing quite well and actually better than 15 years ago.

In January Volvo car sales were up by 24 percent in Europe. And this growth rate was only beaten by Mitsu, Alfa and Land Rover. I do not see BMW or Merc in the list hmm ....

Their market share has also gone up in Europe.

On the contrary Honda, Toyota and Kia are doing poorly in Europe.

Their XC60 is a hit in US and Europe.

Malaysia different story. I blame it on high tax and also public mentality. Volvo are actually good buys as brand new car (and even better bargain as used cars) if you consider the specs they give and the quality of the car. The Merc sold here new or recond are so below in terms of spec compared to a volvo. But still people flock to buy Merc not because of the specs but because of the badge. And also everyone keeps saying Volvo are expensive to maintain which does not help. Their upkeep is no different from other brands. Just don't compare with P1 or P2 cars le.

Same with Toyota. The quality of the interior in the Toyota is no different to a Kelisa but still people would fork out a lot for the brand. For the same amount of money for a new Toyota I can buy get a used Volvo with better build, quality and specs.

[retro]

good to hear that they are doing ok in europe but i believe the question was, should volvo now abandon the fight with mercedes and bmw for sales in malaysia and bring the fight to the japanese and 2nd tier europeans? with a corresponding price revision of course. and, should they actually be spending more to promote and position their cars. they seem awfully quiet save for a few ads that are highlighting their free servicing... which i feel should also be more frequent and in bigger ad spaces. more regular advertising with the right message actually does buy better perception.

[tpl]

Msia suv category xc90 also the best seller ma..

[saroja]

For all the criticism pointed at volvo business the latest figures shows they are doing quite well and actually better than 15 years ago.

In January Volvo car sales were up by 24 percent in Europe. And this growth rate was only beaten by Mitsu, Alfa and Land Rover. I do not see BMW or Merc in the list hmm ....

Their market share has also gone up in Europe.

On the contrary Honda, Toyota and Kia are doing poorly in Europe.

Their XC60 is a hit in US and Europe.

Malaysia different story. I blame it on high tax and also public mentality. Volvo are actually good buys as brand new car (and even better bargain as used cars) if you consider the specs they give and the quality of the car. The Merc sold here new or recond are so below in terms of spec compared to a volvo. But still people flock to buy Merc not because of the specs but because of the badge. And also everyone keeps saying Volvo are expensive to maintain which does not help. Their upkeep is no different from other brands. Just don't compare with P1 or P2 cars le.

Same with Toyota. The quality of the interior in the Toyota is no different to a Kelisa but still people would fork out a lot for the brand. For the same amount of money for a new Toyota I can buy get a used Volvo with better build, quality and specs.

sadly the volvo image has been tarnished. basically whoever drives a volvo is a old hag here in malaysia. hahahaha

[V406198]

sadly the volvo image has been tarnished. basically whoever drives a volvo is a old hag here in malaysia. hahahaha

You call me old man ?? wait until we met on road !!! hahahaha...any way you are damm right about Volvo are generally call as "old man car" and that's been too deep in the public mind set..and now many Volvo enthusiast are trying to changed the public perception about them with participant in many motorsport events and also personalized their ride to show off to public that Volvo can also do as what others german marque did...

[retro]

You call me old man ?? wait until we met on road !!! hahahaha...any way you are damm right about Volvo are generally call as "old man car" and that's been too deep in the public mind set..and now many Volvo enthusiast are trying to changed the public perception about them with participant in many motorsport events and also personalized their ride to show off to public that Volvo can also do as what others german marque did...

the owners can only do so much for the brand's positioning here. it is volvo cars malaysia that needs to play a more pro-active role for the brand. yes, selling the car is one thing (and yes, i do notice their low installment rate advertisements and their free service ads) but telling the public what the brand is all about and what it stands for needs concerted effort by volvo cars malaysia and their marketing and mass comm or pr teams... if they even have one there! (if they have, then they are probably sleeping while the car world progresses by) and, it is not just by placing branding ads here and there or a billboard here and there. they need to work with the media, massage the media, work them up into a frenzy for the brand. just see how nasim has played up the peugeot brand. peugeot was floundering and lost until they teamed up with nasim. just look at the news reviews of the peugeot company, the brand and the products today. it is definitely not a cheap effort but if volvo cars malaysia want to be in this country for the longer term, they have to spend and take that as sunk cost. you don't see the results of branding overnight. it comes after 3 or 4 years if i take the nasim/peugeot example as a benchmark. they will need to accept the fact that every dollar spent today on branding won't give back 2 dollars tomorrow. it is a lot longer for returns. this is a fact and if they really know how to do their business and want it to be here for the longer term, they would quickly do something to address the fast fading image of this once grand brand.

[V406198]

the owners can only do so much for the brand's positioning here. it is volvo cars malaysia that needs to play a more pro-active role for the brand. yes, selling the car is one thing (and yes, i do notice their low installment rate advertisements and their free service ads) but telling the public what the brand is all about and what it stands for needs concerted effort by volvo cars malaysia and their marketing and mass comm or pr teams... if they even have one there! (if they have, then they are probably sleeping while the car world progresses by) and, it is not just by placing branding ads here and there or a billboard here and there. they need to work with the media, massage the media, work them up into a frenzy for the brand. just see how nasim has played up the peugeot brand. peugeot was floundering and lost until they teamed up with nasim. just look at the news reviews of the peugeot company, the brand and the products today. it is definitely not a cheap effort but if volvo cars malaysia want to be in this country for the longer term, they have to spend and take that as sunk cost. you don't see the results of branding overnight. it comes after 3 or 4 years if i take the nasim/peugeot example as a benchmark. they will need to accept the fact that every dollar spent today on branding won't give back 2 dollars tomorrow. it is a lot longer for returns. this is a fact and if they really know how to do their business and want it to be here for the longer term, they would quickly do something to address the fast fading image of this once grand brand.

Bro retro, i wish you are in the VCM board of directors so that your vision & strategy will help to boost up the Volvo branding here. seriously.

Just to share how our souther neighbour Volvo dealer did to boost up the Volvo branding... first their will studied their customers brackground data and then their will planning with few type of after sale service strategy to cater for different base of customers need, example..their will organised SP track events for those performance base owners of S60R,V70R, S60T5, S40T5, C30T5, then organised the short holiday/makan trip to malaysia for those leisure base owners like Xc90, Xc60, Xc70,V70, V50. and also the defensive driving course will organised for those safety concern owners that coming all make of models, and all these events will organised in monthly basic and it really make the positive impact on their current Volvo owners happy and every one of them are always looking forawrd for next event annoucent....this is really make all of us over here so jealous that think why can our Volvo dealers organise such events for us here..in fact theit not even bother to support us in any events that organised by our self funding VOCM..

[retro]

Bro retro, i wish you are in the VCM board of directors so that your vision & strategy will help to boost up the Volvo branding here. seriously.

Just to share how our souther neighbour Volvo dealer did to boost up the Volvo branding... first their will studied their customers brackground data and then their will planning with few type of after sale service strategy to cater for different base of customers need, example..their will organised SP track events for those performance base owners of S60R,V70R, S60T5, S40T5, C30T5, then organised the short holiday/makan trip to malaysia for those leisure base owners like Xc90, Xc60, Xc70,V70, V50. and also the defensive driving course will organised for those safety concern owners that coming all make of models, and all these events will organised in monthly basic and it really make the positive impact on their current Volvo owners happy and every one of them are always looking forawrd for next event annoucent....this is really make all of us over here so jealous that think why can our Volvo dealers organise such events for us here..in fact theit not even bother to support us in any events that organised by our self funding VOCM..

bro, it is not just me but thanks for the compliment. anyone who has a good marketing background can figure sth like what i wrote earlier. basically no point trying to reinvent the wheel. just observe how successful companies do it and adapt. yup, singapore is quite active and they already have launched the s60 1.6 with turbo. i saw it there. quite nice. the only reason why i am pointing these issues out is so that if there is someone from vcm looking in, they could pick up the stuff that are raised by volvo fans and owners here and work on it. hopefully lah. i think there is a good future for this brand... if they start doing things the aggressive malaysian way instead of the more laid back swedish way.