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Volvo In Malaysia


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#1
retro

Posted 12 January 2011 - 09:06 AM

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This brand seems awfully quiet. Back in the day, their 240 was selling like hot cakes. Something the 740, 940 and following models couldn't emulate. Back then, they were the more affordable alternatives to the Germans. Today, anyone want to guess where they are perceived to be? Are they still a level 1 German competitor or nothing more than level 2 European competitor? Meaning, they compete with VW, Ford, Alfa, Renault, Peugeot and also the Japanese.

Just curious because Volvo used to go great guns and now, silence. Their model range seems overpriced and overspecced for this market IMHO. Are Volvo still noted for safety? Or is it more performance now? But if they want to do 'performance' isn't that encroaching into where BMW is and also where some other 2nd level European brands are?

Appreciate if Volvo owners and also non-owners can share. Would make an interesting discussion.

#2
V406198

Posted 13 January 2011 - 02:25 PM

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QUOTE (retro @ Jan 12 2011, 09:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
This brand seems awfully quiet. Back in the day, their 240 was selling like hot cakes. Something the 740, 940 and following models couldn't emulate. Back then, they were the more affordable alternatives to the Germans. Today, anyone want to guess where they are perceived to be? Are they still a level 1 German competitor or nothing more than level 2 European competitor? Meaning, they compete with VW, Ford, Alfa, Renault, Peugeot and also the Japanese.

Just curious because Volvo used to go great guns and now, silence. Their model range seems overpriced and overspecced for this market IMHO. Are Volvo still noted for safety? Or is it more performance now? But if they want to do 'performance' isn't that encroaching into where BMW is and also where some other 2nd level European brands are?

Appreciate if Volvo owners and also non-owners can share. Would make an interesting discussion.

i had owned 2 Volvo so far for past 8 years and consider myself are still in learning stage about Volvo history, design and passion..and hope i'm qualify to share my opinions..

understand back in the time when 240, 740, 940 was the popular choice from many professional career like airplane pilor, doctor, lawyer, and also governtment servers and that time it was selling easily over hundreds units permonth ( compare to now about 7xx units sold per year ) and with all safety feature + the turbo charger RWD was the top end model of the range, i can understand why Volvo was the first pick for those well earn career professionals as during that time no other contil makers was offer the similar package as what Volvo offer..and also during that time Volvo Malaysia sole distributor /dealer aka Federal Auto are with closed relationship with centre goverment top officer, so Volvo was pick for use in their top officer car as well as other authority enforcement units use..this happy relationship came to end when our national car project started...

Them back in the time on 90's Volvo Malaysia had went through the hard time in past decades of selling their products start from the time when launched the FWD model like V/S70, S90, V/S40 if to compare to their first FWD model 855 T5 model that selling quite reasonable well ( this was the model that boost up Volvo image interm of racing performance from their BTCC entry ), all these models selling still with choices of Turbo or NA and without doubt the turbo model are still the best selling ( ppl still prefer bigger HP car )..BUT why Volvo are started to became most professional 3 or 4 choices in their new car shopping list... the main reason is that time Volvo if facing the financial problem ( that's why Volvo was sold to Ford) and their had tight in the budget and had fall them self in the situation of their products design start to look outdated, performance set up can't satify those performance hardcore, built quality are beyond high expectation...ppl start to call Volvo car as uncle car. during same time, all other contil competitors had agressively improved their design outlook + safety feature + performance + built quality = better selling.

After Volvo was take over by Ford in early 2000, few updated facelift models + new model like S60, S80, XC70 was launched later with better equip performance, moden looking design inside out, better quality trimming and fix..but the damaged of market percention of Volvo are uncle car was too deep in the customers head where market are prefer other contil car models that are with even better design, better built quality and better resale value..lucky by that time Volvo came out with the best seller XC90 to maintain their selling volume of 7xx unit oer annually.

So Volvo Car Malaysia (the new Volvo car distributer was set up by Volvo Car Swede joint venture with Federal Auto) have to change their marketing stratengy to sell more customer friendly car model ( it mean target those exec female buyers that worry about turbo maintenance ) like P11 S40/V50/C70/C30 2.4i or 2.0 powershift..and target of their new customer from japanese model buyer like Toyota & Honda. at the same time only few model like XC90, Mk2 S802.5T, XC60 T6&2.0T remain as turbo charger as those car are design main for highway cruishing. from them Volvo had lost their loyalty follower especially those are fan of TURBO car. that why most of Volvo hardcore perfer to buy those second hand Volvo with turbo.

Now with newer model like XC60 t6 & 2.0t as well the coming soon mrk2 S60 and also V60, we might seen the new trend of Volvo spec with small engine capacity but with reasonable power output..

Btw, your claim of Volvo are over price & also over spec are untrue..Volvo selling in Malaysia are with quite reasonable tag and spec wise are just competitive, but one thing for sure is Volvo resale value are very very low...

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#3
retro

Posted 13 January 2011 - 05:32 PM

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QUOTE (V406198 @ Jan 13 2011, 02:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
i had owned 2 Volvo so far for past 8 years and consider myself are still in learning stage about Volvo history, design and passion..and hope i'm qualify to share my opinions..

understand back in the time when 240, 740, 940 was the popular choice from many professional career like airplane pilor, doctor, lawyer, and also governtment servers and that time it was selling easily over hundreds units permonth ( compare to now about 7xx units sold per year ) and with all safety feature + the turbo charger RWD was the top end model of the range, i can understand why Volvo was the first pick for those well earn career professionals as during that time no other contil makers was offer the similar package as what Volvo offer..and also during that time Volvo Malaysia sole distributor /dealer aka Federal Auto are with closed relationship with centre goverment top officer, so Volvo was pick for use in their top officer car as well as other authority enforcement units use..this happy relationship came to end when our national car project started...

Them back in the time on 90's Volvo Malaysia had went through the hard time in past decades of selling their products start from the time when launched the FWD model like V/S70, S90, V/S40 if to compare to their first FWD model 855 T5 model that selling quite reasonable well ( this was the model that boost up Volvo image interm of racing performance from their BTCC entry ), all these models selling still with choices of Turbo or NA and without doubt the turbo model are still the best selling ( ppl still prefer bigger HP car )..BUT why Volvo are started to became most professional 3 or 4 choices in their new car shopping list... the main reason is that time Volvo if facing the financial problem ( that's why Volvo was sold to Ford) and their had tight in the budget and had fall them self in the situation of their products design start to look outdated, performance set up can't satify those performance hardcore, built quality are beyond high expectation...ppl start to call Volvo car as uncle car. during same time, all other contil competitors had agressively improved their design outlook + safety feature + performance + built quality = better selling.

After Volvo was take over by Ford in early 2000, few updated facelift models + new model like S60, S80, XC70 was launched later with better equip performance, moden looking design inside out, better quality trimming and fix..but the damaged of market percention of Volvo are uncle car was too deep in the customers head where market are prefer other contil car models that are with even better design, better built quality and better resale value..lucky by that time Volvo came out with the best seller XC90 to maintain their selling volume of 7xx unit oer annually.

So Volvo Car Malaysia (the new Volvo car distributer was set up by Volvo Car Swede joint venture with Federal Auto) have to change their marketing stratengy to sell more customer friendly car model ( it mean target those exec female buyers that worry about turbo maintenance ) like P11 S40/V50/C70/C30 2.4i or 2.0 powershift..and target of their new customer from japanese model buyer like Toyota & Honda. at the same time only few model like XC90, Mk2 S802.5T, XC60 T6&2.0T remain as turbo charger as those car are design main for highway cruishing. from them Volvo had lost their loyalty follower especially those are fan of TURBO car. that why most of Volvo hardcore perfer to buy those second hand Volvo with turbo.

Now with newer model like XC60 t6 & 2.0t as well the coming soon mrk2 S60 and also V60, we might seen the new trend of Volvo spec with small engine capacity but with reasonable power output..

Btw, your claim of Volvo are over price & also over spec are untrue..Volvo selling in Malaysia are with quite reasonable tag and spec wise are just competitive, but one thing for sure is Volvo resale value are very very low...



hey, thanks for the clarification. was waiting for a few days for volvo fans to respond. so, to you, the prices of their cars today are ok? and it will be good if they have more turbo cars? but the s80 is turbo with lots of power too. selling about 300k. many think it is too close to the 5 series and e-class for the volvo s80 to really sell in bigger numbers.

as for the s40. now they have the 2.0 powershift which is actually a DSG gearbox (sadly they don't seem to shout about this feature). no turbo lah but at 169k, many ppl also think it is a ford focus with fancy clothes and well, some of my friends still say that the price should be closer to the focus and other c segment european competitors out there. what do you think? the s40 is a focus, golf 1.4 tsi and 308 competitor or a 1-series competitor? many people are confused about where volvo is competing in.

would a lower priced entry level s40 help? but i checked their website, the 1.6 only puts out 100hp! would anyone be interested in a 1.6 s40 with 100hp?

one last question! would chinese ownership do anything negative to the volvo brand image?

again, thanks for replying! smile.gif

#4
V406198

Posted 14 January 2011 - 01:19 PM

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QUOTE (retro @ Jan 13 2011, 05:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
hey, thanks for the clarification. was waiting for a few days for volvo fans to respond. so, to you, the prices of their cars today are ok? and it will be good if they have more turbo cars? but the s80 is turbo with lots of power too. selling about 300k. many think it is too close to the 5 series and e-class for the volvo s80 to really sell in bigger numbers.

as for the s40. now they have the 2.0 powershift which is actually a DSG gearbox (sadly they don't seem to shout about this feature). no turbo lah but at 169k, many ppl also think it is a ford focus with fancy clothes and well, some of my friends still say that the price should be closer to the focus and other c segment european competitors out there. what do you think? the s40 is a focus, golf 1.4 tsi and 308 competitor or a 1-series competitor? many people are confused about where volvo is competing in.

would a lower priced entry level s40 help? but i checked their website, the 1.6 only puts out 100hp! would anyone be interested in a 1.6 s40 with 100hp?

one last question! would chinese ownership do anything negative to the volvo brand image?

again, thanks for replying! smile.gif

Ok, for me (the middle income person) i definately can't afford to buy a brand new Volvo (any model) with my hard earn $, so i opted for used units that with greate low resale value (another word worth $ value) in fact now a day most brand new Volvo ownerships are registed under comapny (company tax rebate can offset the low resale value) so most Volvo fan/hardcodes will buy it as used with little $...that mean selling price of model like S80 2.5t will not really matter to those rich corporate clients that wanted the image of estabish corporation and same time keep as low profile... and to those personal buyers will opt for other contil maker that are more toward to performance & design outlook. so the potential buyer for Volvo and other contil makers are normally from two different camp.

althrought mk2 s40/V40/C30/C70 are sharing same platform with Ford Focus & Mazda3, but all three manufacturers are having their own design philosophy, different marketing strategy and as well of different group of fans. so three of them are in different league. you will buy Volvo for executive & safety reason, Ford for handling performance, Mazda for fun & fuel economic. so where are you belong to ?

the Volvo 1.6L 100bhp model are the entry level model that only selling in europe, we must understand the market demand from different continent are with different requirement as depend on their driving environment, driving style, fuel price, daily use & also selling pricing..most entry level model are sold to those low income group, short distance & non daily driving, use on sub urban area, and high petrol price country. so this entry model will not be sell over here in parts of the world as the import tax/high expectation are not in favour to it. but never the less Volvo had came out a latest 1.6L turbo that will produce healthy 180 bhp in their future models, if you interested then keep your eye on it. time being read the story below..

http://www.worldcarf...-wagon-revealed

Last, the common question from most ppl about China new owner (Geely) of Volvo that worries most ppl that Geely will jeopardize the long history Volvo branding with China cheap & low quality parts & workmanship...but do you think will Geely are stupid to just kill their own new baby with their $ wasted ?? answer is certainly NO. from the announcement statement from both party ( Geely & Volvo) had clear the air by saying Volvo Swede will still in control of their management, R&D, design, marketing & production, Geely only will provide funding.. so for Volvo European will produced Volvo cars to supply to Europe & American market , while Geely will set up 3-4 Volvo manufature plants in China to cater mainly for China domestic market and also part of the Asia market beside Japan.. all this arrangment are just like how when Ford owned the Volvo branding, Ford dont product any Volvo car in America but instead import from Europe. and now China new owner just wanted to "borrow" Volvo technology on safety feature, rigid steel body work design & technology as well the long history Volvo branding to boost up their share in the China domestic car market selling that is no1 in the world now..

In fact now a day, we had already witness few Volvo parts had been produce & fixed on the current Volvo models as well as other parts coming from India, Brazil, Poland, Vitenam..but we never notice those parts had effected badly on the Volvo car model operation and jeapardy Volvo safety feature..so what will effected us in Malaysia by new models that products of China Volvo ? nobody will know so far , we just need to wait & see. time being please read the statement that realesed by both of them earlier...

http://www.worldcarf...olvo-sale-terms
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#5
retro

Posted 14 January 2011 - 02:11 PM

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thanks again for your reply. i have better understanding of the situation now from a volvo owner's point of view smile_thumbup.gif

#6
Acegt

Posted 21 January 2011 - 09:57 PM

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I think Volvo needs to improve their sales experience to be on par with the German and the Japanese car dealers. They fit between the camry/accord and bmw/merc market, a good niche to be in. But since their sales pitch are so dull and confusing, most people end up getting the japanese.

#7
V406198

Posted 24 January 2011 - 03:42 PM

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QUOTE (Acegt @ Jan 21 2011, 09:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I think Volvo needs to improve their sales experience to be on par with the German and the Japanese car dealers. They fit between the camry/accord and bmw/merc market, a good niche to be in. But since their sales pitch are so dull and confusing, most people end up getting the japanese.

you are spot on ! reasonable good produce but bad marketing strategy & old mentality...
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#8
cruzeon

Posted 24 January 2011 - 05:29 PM

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QUOTE (V406198 @ Jan 24 2011, 03:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
you are spot on ! reasonable good produce but bad marketing strategy & old mentality...


to me price that matters the most. dont u think volvo is overpriced here? look at the price for xc60 even it is ckd now? just bcos it is a turbo engine? come one la. I dont think they wanna sell in numbers, they want to project volvo is a higher class, which is true plus the safety specs, but cant be selling too high maaaa. how much more cost to volvo s40 2.0t compare to sonata 2.0, which sonata can be sold at abt 135k for a cbu unit?? are u saying a ckd s40 cost more than a cbu sonata?? I dont understand here. smile_question.gif pls help smile_tongue.gif

#9
swinee

Posted 24 January 2011 - 08:24 PM

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QUOTE (cruzeon @ Jan 24 2011, 05:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
to me price that matters the most. dont u think volvo is overpriced here? look at the price for xc60 even it is ckd now? just bcos it is a turbo engine? come one la. I dont think they wanna sell in numbers, they want to project volvo is a higher class, which is true plus the safety specs, but cant be selling too high maaaa. how much more cost to volvo s40 2.0t compare to sonata 2.0, which sonata can be sold at abt 135k for a cbu unit?? are u saying a ckd s40 cost more than a cbu sonata?? I dont understand here. smile_question.gif pls help smile_tongue.gif

for ur info, volvo doesnt want to project a higher class..infact it is Geely who want to build a higher class image of volvo..
but volvo is still a 2nd tier player among european marque as opel/alfa/VW..the major payer is still the double B's.. smile_tongue.gif

for the xc60 i think the price is reasonable..altot i think 250k shud be a better price than 280k..
but still the xc60 2.0T since launched have recieved overwhelming response smile_blush.gif
if u think ckd volvo is expensive den y make u think a ckd bmw 3 or merc c worth selling at 300k??
or u want compare it with a X3 or Tiguan?

i dunno the actual cost of ckd cost how much more than cbu sonata, but from material and quality S40 build is way far better than a sonata..if u say sonata selling at 135k is worth the money u pay den again wat make u think inspira 2.0 can be selling at near 95k being a national car, and wat make u think that volvo cant be priced higher than a korean make car smile_blush.gif

the lesson is overhere in MY u cant even compare the pricing matter..there ar etoo much of hidden agendas behind that we as citizzens cant even know smile_approve.gif

#10
V406198

Posted 25 January 2011 - 02:26 PM

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QUOTE (swinee @ Jan 24 2011, 08:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
for ur info, volvo doesnt want to project a higher class..infact it is Geely who want to build a higher class image of volvo..
but volvo is still a 2nd tier player among european marque as opel/alfa/VW..the major payer is still the double B's.. smile_tongue.gif

for the xc60 i think the price is reasonable..altot i think 250k shud be a better price than 280k..
but still the xc60 2.0T since launched have recieved overwhelming response smile_blush.gif
if u think ckd volvo is expensive den y make u think a ckd bmw 3 or merc c worth selling at 300k??
or u want compare it with a X3 or Tiguan?

i dunno the actual cost of ckd cost how much more than cbu sonata, but from material and quality S40 build is way far better than a sonata..if u say sonata selling at 135k is worth the money u pay den again wat make u think inspira 2.0 can be selling at near 95k being a national car, and wat make u think that volvo cant be priced higher than a korean make car smile_blush.gif

the lesson is overhere in MY u cant even compare the pricing matter..there ar etoo much of hidden agendas behind that we as citizzens cant even know smile_approve.gif

Well said smile_thumbup.gif smile_thumbup.gif

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