Filed under: Car Buying, Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Trends, Coupes, SUVs
Volvo debating how to bring C30 to U.S. market
Ford-owned Volvo is facing some tough choices on what direction to take ithe production version of its C30 Concept, in the U.S. marketplace. The main reason, according to Volvo executives, is because Americans, have proven reluctant to purchase small, premium vehicles, such as the BMW 318ti and Saab 9-2. However, offerings like BMW's MINI prove that U.S. consumers are willing to pay extra for a charistmatic, upscale small car.
Three choices currently be mulled over include:
- Positioning the C30 as an entry-level luxury vehicle for around $23,000.
- Equipping the C30 with a turbocharged, five-cylinder engine (instead of a four-banger) and raising the price to $25,000.
- Selling an all-wheel-drive C30 fully equipped for $30,000.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ed Kapuscinski 8:28PM (1/29/2006)
I don't know why they lump the 9-2 in with the 318. EVERYONE knew that the 9-2 was just a Saabaru, and the typical Saab owner is smart enough to see through rebadging a Japanese car (no matter how good) as a Swedish one.
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zverg 8:31PM (1/29/2006)
Have they ruled out doing all of the above? I don't see a problem here. Ok, ok.. I drive a hatchback, so clearly I'm an unamerican thinker. :D Small nice cars like the Audi A3 are awesome, it's my favorite car "genre".
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mike 9:13PM (1/29/2006)
If Volvo reads blogs like this one for marketing research, i'd like to offer a piece of advice. Whatever you decide, give the car nice wheels -the ones picture above are great but the could stand to loose an inch in size for the practical use. That does not volvo should crap out on the wheels. They are very important to the over visual impression of an automobile. Volvo is controlled by ford, which is an american company and american companies are the worst offenders vis ?ie wheel aesthetics (ford mustang is a good example). ford's Mazda seems to have gotten the picture though.
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Steve S 9:38PM (1/29/2006)
Power, power, power. Americans will buy cool little cars if they go fast. We will always pony up for affordable speed.
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Richard Lawrence 9:58PM (1/29/2006)
Not only is lumping the 9-2 with the 318 a bad idea. Using the 318 as an example is a bad idea period. The reason that vehicle was such a flop here was not because it was a hatchback, but because it was an ugly ilconceived hatchback that looked uneven and ungainly.
The first poster is exactly right, the reason I passed on the 9-2 was because I felt as though I would be driving Saab impostor - no Saab Info Display and no center console ignition means are two marks against it (at least the 9-7 has that part right).
Besides, I thought the 9-2 was Saab's answer to the V50? And as an aside, I would have strongly considered the V50 is the folks at Volvo USA in their infinite wisdom hadn't decided that the only model to get the manual transmission is the most expensive one. IDIOTS.
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Fagmaster170 10:37PM (1/29/2006)
I rather liked the 318ti, if it wasnt so gutless I think it actually would have sold well.
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James 10:40PM (1/29/2006)
the 318 and the 9-2x are REALLY bad examples of premium compacts.
The 318Ti was not a pleasant vehicle, that's why it sold poorly. It was underpowered, loud, slow, had the old Z-link rear from the E30 (circa early 80's) and was unattractive.
the 9-2x was never destined or intended to be a big seller. It was a 2-3 year stopgap that saab expected to not turn a huge profit. It was also poorly equipped for the market- who'd get one versus an Audi A3 or a Volvo V50? No one- it was small, loud, and felt distinctly japapese.
Look at sales of cars like the Mercedes C230 Sedan and Coupe - mercedes' cheapest car and biggest seller. The Audi A3 is doing well, and the original A4 was not exactly an expensive car - it sold in spades.
The reason premium compacts haven't sold well here is because we've gotten the short end of the stick for them in the US.
I think the C30 will sell VERY well here. Nimble, safe, nice inside, attractive outside, well built, and reasonably priced as well as quick. It's like a Swedish GTi- and GTi's have always had a nice core audience in the US. The crap VW MKIV GTi was still selling well as of last month... and the MKIV platform was introduced in 1998 :)
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ebm14 11:03PM (1/29/2006)
I think the C30 will onflict with the price range of the S40. Volvo really needs to sell the base model at $19.000 to prove it as an entry car.
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tim uf 11:22PM (1/29/2006)
well, volvo is not an entry level car company
i dont see why they couldnt offer trim levels with all three (make one of them a c30R). if done properly, like the mercedes class coupe, or the A3,it could work.
as to wether the US is willing to buy a hi-po small hatch, look at the VW R32, it was a powerful awd hatchback, and i think they sold every one they brought over here.
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Car-la 12:13AM (1/30/2006)
Just bring all three variants. One for everyone. And the C30 will sell, because even I like it. And I usually don't like Volvos at all.
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Ed Kapuscinski 12:49AM (1/30/2006)
Mmmm... a brand new Vo for $19k... I'd die. Because I wouldn't know what to do with my new (to me) V70GLT that I haven't even made the first payment on...
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S. On Da 5 1:01AM (1/30/2006)
This car will do well if entry level price is below $20,000 and a more powerful AWD type of vehicle like the Focus ST is low $23,000.
This is a nice looking car and if 12,000 of them is all they want to sell then IMO they can shoot high and get meet their sales goals.
I am looking at Suzuki Swift and Suzuki SX4 and all the other cool "Supermini's" that will soon be out. IMO this is where the high sales will be.
IMO this is all bogus marketing by Ford. Ford should have just brought the USA a real Focus. The kind of Focus that Europe has.
I don't support the C30. Old school member of [FJ], Focaljet. IMO it is a sneaky attempt to maximize profits off of the Ford Focus technology.
Too many fruits for Ford to juggle these days.
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Ed 1:08AM (1/30/2006)
I don't see how they can price it in the $25k+ range without cannibalizing S40 sales. Makes no sense to me.
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S. on Da 5 1:26AM (1/30/2006)
They know exactly what they are doing.
This is why Ford will not offer North America a Focus comparable to what Europe has. Too many people in North America think the Focus is an economy "cheap" car.
Dress the Focus technology up a bit and give it to Mazda or Volvo and their ready and willing market will eat it up.
I refute the idea that they can't make an AWD turbo charged C30 for less than $23,000. IMO they just don't want to. If they were to do that then they would hand the car back to Ford and call it a ST Focus.
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Robert 2:06AM (1/30/2006)
I guess my sense of aesthetics is off the norm as the 318ti and 9-2x are both on my short list of cars to buy. I understand their pundits and sales dont lie, but I like them just the same.
Im very happy to hear mass minimization stated as a goal. I think the single greatest vice of the auto industry is porcine vehicles and the easiest way to combat this is starting with an efficient package.
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edwoodca 2:38AM (1/30/2006)
The orig. article about the C30 says this as to why they won't/can't bring all three variants to the U.S.:
"...only one variant because the European and Asian markets will gobble up the majority of the volume, expected to be about 75,000 units globally. The U.S. sales arm cannot afford the cost and complexity of bringing multiple variants of a car that likely will bring only 1,000 sales a month."
And re: the pricing:
"...Volvo might be willing to forgo profits to sell the C30 in America at a price Americans would be willing to pay, then make up the difference on high-margin vehicles such as the XC90 crossover."
Bummer. But, hey... at least they're gonna bring it over, at all. How many times have we not gotten a hot sub-compact that we'd only get to read about in magazines, or online???
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Jonathan 2:52AM (1/30/2006)
"american companies are the worst offenders vis ?ie wheel aesthetics (ford mustang is a good example). ford's Mazda seems to have gotten the picture though."
It's half the reason I bought my Mazda3 5-door! Gorgeous wheels standard.
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David Every 6:56AM (1/30/2006)
I've been waiting for the C30. Come out with the hot motor and AWD, and I'd pay high 20's, no problem. Canibalization of sales is over-rated. I wouldn't buy an S40 or V50 because I don't want a sadan or wagon -- I would buy a C30. Since most of the parts are in common, this isn't canibalization but appealing to a broader market. If it doesn't have a hot motor, high end interior, and AWD, then I'll probably just buy another Mini or an A3. (If Audi had an S3 here, I'd have already bought it).
Here's the thing; we had 318ti -- it failed not only because it was underpowered, and not considered great technology, but because BMW didn't market it AT ALL, and everyone that came into a BMW dealer was pumped up the line to more expensive models. Even if the ti lost money, BMW made money by having it because it sold so many people on other models. The germans just couldn't do math very well, or didn't want to subsidize their dealers.
The Mercedes had the same problems as the BMW. The 9-2 was a stop gap, is still an ugly Japanese car. If the Euopeans give us another crappy down-graded econo-box hatch, don't market it, they're attacking an over-crowded market -- with another me-too contender, and it won't sell that well. If they offer best of breed, AWD (which you can't get from the Japanese or American), they'll own the segment AND be able to more easily move people up the line.
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Matt 9:31AM (1/30/2006)
I think they should do the turbo for sure and also bring back the real T5 high pressure turbo found in previous R models and 850/s70 T5's, not the low pressure turbo in what their calling a t5 in the S40 now. And yes, AWD for sure as that motor will need it to keep the rubber planted! Lightweight, great handling, lots of power and reasonable level of refinement, but not at the expense of the previous 3
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Bill 10:04AM (1/30/2006)
The 9-2 and 318 comparisons aren't good.
I'm a 9-2x owner, and I was fully aware of what I was getting. Liked Subarus, but they're ugly, and the 9-2x was not nearly as ugly, and had the features I wanted. GM was practically giving them away, and under no circumstances would I have paid full price for one. Yes, it drives like a Japanese car, and looks like one inside, but it also has Japanese reliabilty.
If Saab were making it's own hatchback still, I'm sure it would be on my list, but they stopped making them.
I love the A3. Even a loaded Golf to me is what I would consider a premium compact car, but I wasn't willing to put up with VW service issues that my friends have had. I just want a small wagon or hatchback car that handles well, performs well, is quiet, and has lots of features and amenities.
I even like the forthcoming Nissan Versa, and have always liked the Mazda3. Personally, I would be more inclined to by a "loaded" version of a less prestigious nameplate (such as the 2 cars above), than a low-end model of a high-end nameplate. Whenever I see someone driving a 318 Hatch, or the M-B C-Class hatch, I always think "sucker".
I'm sure people think that about me in my 9-2x (if they even know what a 9-2x is) but I don't really care because I'm not into the prestige thing, and I got the car for less than the cost of a Subaru Impreza, with more features, more warranty, and a little less ugliness, so I'm happy.
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