Volvo’s New Ways Don’t Include Motorsport
Volvo is currently trying to modify their brand image and marketing strategy. This includes a diminished presence at various auto shows to concentrate their efforts on their own events, a change to their approach to car sales and a review of what they are willing to sponsor.
This means that the Swedish manufacturer will cut their racing programme in the next few years. This comes as a surprise, since Volvo recently invested ludicrous amounts of money into the Australian V8 Supercar racing series: they created a car, an engine and a racing programme from scratch in one year. This also marks the death of the STCC programme in Europe. Volvo has not confirmed outright that they will cancel the V8 Supercar funding, but they stated that they will re-evaluate their priorities as soon as the contract ends in 2016. They have said that racing does not fit into their new brand image (safety and efficiency).
Volvo will also change the way they launch products: Instead of fighting with other automakers for attention at all the auto shows, they will concentrate on three, one on each continent (Detroit, Geneva and Beijing/Shanghai). However, they will set up their own events where the press will be able to discover their new products.
The brand is also thinking about modifying the car-buying process, most notably by using online shopping tools.