Like it or not, SUVs are the best-selling form of car these days, and this means people are slowly but surely moving away from traditional sedans and wagons. And Volvo UK’s recent decision is a straight reflection of this trend, as it is discontinuing all of its sedan and wagon models. This includes the brand’s S60 sedan, as well as its V60 and V90 wagons, according to a news report published by Autocar.
As of now, the mentioned models are no longer listed on Volvo UK’s online configurator. However, customers are still able to order the pre-configured models from the dealers’ remaining stock.
These aren’t the first non-SUV models to have been axed in the UK though. Back in June, the carmaker decided to remove its S90 flagship sedan, alongside the Cross Country variants of the V60 and V90 wagons off its shelf.
Based on the global sales figures published by the Swedish carmaker for the first half of 2023, it appears that Volvo’s SUV lineup has outsold its entire sedan and wagon range by a margin of nearly 70%. In fact, sedans and wagons both only account for less than 10% of the brand’s sales in the UK.
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Despite the discontinuation, bespoke wagons supplied by the brand’s special vehicles division to UK’s emergency services such as police forces will not be affected. These vehicles are different from the passenger models, as they are built with more power, better payload capacity and brakes, but with lower interior specifications. The 180 km/h speed limiter is also disabled for these vehicles.
According to a statement Volvo sent to Autocar, the Swedish firm said, “We continue to rapidly transform our product offer, which means not only moving towards full electrification, but also shifting to new platforms and technologies across all our cars. We will naturally need to evolve and consolidate our line-up as we prioritise fully electric cars and make this technological transition.”
“As a result, we have removed further models from the UK line-up. These include the S60, V60 and V90. Demand for our existing SUV line-up continues to grow, while interest in our forthcoming fully electric EX30 and EX90 models is strong. Meanwhile, appetite for our saloon and estate models has fallen to very low levels in the UK, which has led to our decision to remove these models from sale in the UK,” the firm added.
If you are wondering if non-SUV models will have the slightest chance of returning to the UK market in the future, there is no clear answer just yet. What is clear, however, is Volvo’s commitment to offering a pure-electric range by 2030, and currently targets to launch one new EV model every year as it marches towards the goal.
The recently debuted Volvo EX30 will be arriving at UK shores later this year, while the larger EX90 and an XC60 successor will be following behind in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Volvo CEO Jim Rowan has also hinted at the return of lower-slung models, and we are excited to find out what they will be.
Closer to home, the Swedish carmaker’s sedan and wagon line-ups are still in safe hands under Volvo Car Malaysia’s model line-up. This includes the Volvo S60, S90, and V60 Recharge plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models, with each of them carrying a starting price tag of RM313,888, RM370,888, and RM321,888 respectively.
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