Volvo Car Regional Training Center In Malaysia Will Train Asia Pacific Staff And Dealers
Volvo Car Malaysia has opened the Volvo Car Regional Training Center in Symphony Square in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. This brand new space in Section 13 PJ will be delivering up to 7,500 man days of training annually to staff and dealers across the Asia Pacific region, in technical and non-technical areas.
“Malaysia is considered the ideal hub as it offers good infrastructure and a strong team of local talent to run regional functions. This training center and other shared services such as Finance Cluster, Technical Hub, and Procurement which operate here are expected to generate export service revenue of over RM100 million in the next 5-7 years,” said Mr. Nalin Jain, Managing Director of Volvo Car Malaysia.
Volvo is also committed to continually improve the end-to-end experience for its customers. In 2019, Volvo added fully certified after-sales teams to all its dealerships nationwide. 90% of the dealerships are also equipped with the Volvo Personalized Service (VPS) hardware. These changes enabled Volvo to serve its customers better and ultimately drive greater business performance.
“As a carmaker, our business does not stop at delivering mobility to our customers. It is the overall customer experience that really makes or breaks a brand. Positive experiences drive brand trust and word-of-mouth, and that is why a lot of our efforts focus on ensuring that our sales and after sales services are the best that we can offer,” said Mr. Nalin.
2019 was also a significant year for Volvo as an international brand. It surpassed the 700,000 mark for the first time ever, with a total of 705,452 vehicles sold globally. On the local front, Volvo Car Malaysia achieved a milestone of its own too, with the highest retail delivery to date of 1,883 vehicles.
“Even as the Malaysian premium segment is facing a decline, Volvo beat the odds and accomplished our highest ever year-on-year growth in retail delivery at 36.1% in 2019 compared to the previous year. We are definitely on the right trajectory and we are excited to show our customers what’s in store for the Volvo brand in 2020,” Mr. Nalin added.
Some other notable accomplishments of 2019 include:
- Strong market share in Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (‘PHEV’)
- Launched 3 new cars: XC40 T5 CKD, S60 T8, and XC90 Facelift
- Launched 5 new dealerships: Setia Alam (Motion Beyond), Johor Bahru (Pekin Auto), Mutiara Damansara (Ingress Swede Automobile), Ipoh (iRoll Ipoh), and Ara Damansara (Sime Darby Swedish Auto)
- One of the first two markets to have a 100% Volvo Retail Experience dealership in APAC
Riding on this momentum, 2020 is expected to be another momentous year for Volvo with two new cars – the S60 T8 CKD and S90 Facelift, and a new dealership in Kota Kinabalu set to launched very soon.
On another note, new Volvo PHEVs (plug-in electric vehicles) purchased from 1 January 2020 onwards will come with an 8-year PHEV battery warranty, offering peace of mind for car buyers who wish to invest in cleaner energy alternatives.
Volvo is also seeking new ways to reduce its environmental impact across the board. According to Mr. Richard Snijders, Vice President of Volvo Car Group, sustainability is a strong theme for Volvo this year and in the future. In its mission to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2025 and to ultimately become carbon neutral by 2040, Volvo will tackle carbon emissions in its manufacturing network, supply chain and through its approach to recycling and reuse of materials. This commitment is the catalyst for Volvo’s ambition to have at least 25% of the plastics used to make a new Volvo car to come from recycled materials by 2025.
“We take sustainability very seriously at Volvo, with one of the most ambitious climate plans in the car industry. I’m proud that the culture is just as strong here in Malaysia. For example, our showrooms now only utilize digital price stands, or what we call the Digital Silent Salesmen. We have stopped printing brochures and are moving towards reducing waste – both internally and externally. Slowly but surely, Volvo will be able steer away from any single-use products and be a driving force for sustainable living within the automotive industry and beyond,” Mr. Snijders said.
In conjunction with Chinese New Year, Volvo is offering attractive deals for selected car models. New buyers of the Volvo XC40 T5 R-Design will enjoy a complimentary 5-year maintenance service package, also known as the VSA 5+. As for the XC90 T5 Momentum and S90 T5 Momentum, buyers will be entitled to an auspicious ang pow worth RM23,888 on top of the VSA 5+ package. Selected PHEV models will also come with a complimentary Recharge Package worth RM10,000 as well as the VSA 5+ package. This offer is valid until 29 February 2020 (terms and conditions apply).
