Volvo goes SUV-only in UK as all saloon and estate cars axed

Volvo present exclusively sells SUVs in the UK, having discontinued each of its saloon and property cars.

The Volvo S60 saloon, arsenic good arsenic the Volvo V60 and Volvo V90 estates, are nary longer listed connected the Swedish firm's online configurator (although they can inactive beryllium ordered pre-configured from trader stock).

​Volvo's largest saloon, the S90, was removed from sale earlier this summertime arsenic portion of a wider "consolidation" of the firm's range, with the rugged V60 and V90 Cross Country property models besides bowing out. 

The S60 was removed from merchantability past twelvemonth arsenic portion of an interior valuation process but aboriginal added backmost to the bid books "for the medium-term future".  

​The South Carolina works wherever Volvo builds the S60 is successful the process of being revamped to physique electrical SUVs for Volvo and sibling marque Polestar, which are each owed connected merchantability successful 2024. 

It has said the S90, V60, V90, and the second two’s Cross Country variants will continue to beryllium made successful authorization specifications.

These vehicles disagree from customers models as, owed to their intended use, they harvester precocious show with little interior specifications, uprated payload capableness and upgraded brakes. The 112mph velocity limiter is besides disabled.

In a connection sent to Autocar, Volvo said: “We proceed to rapidly alteration our merchandise offer, which means not lone moving towards afloat electrification, but besides shifting to caller platforms and technologies crossed each our cars. We volition people request to germinate and consolidate our line-up arsenic we prioritise afloat electrical cars and marque this technological transition.

"As a result, we person removed further models from the UK line-up. These see the S60, V60 and V90. Demand for our existing SUV line-up continues to grow, portion involvement successful our forthcoming afloat electrical EX30 and EX90 models is strong. Meanwhile, appetite for our saloon and property models has fallen to precise debased levels successful the UK, which has led to our determination to region these models from merchantability successful the UK.”

Volvo precocious published its planetary income figures for the archetypal fractional of 2023, revealing that its astir fashionable car – an SUV – outsold its full saloon and property scope by a borderline of astir 70%.

The S90 was the astir fashionable of the now-discontinued cars, with 23,000 income implicit the six-month period. The S60 accounted for 18,000 and the V60 conscionable implicit 16,000. The V90, however, notched up conscionable 7100. 

The best-selling Volvo XC60, meanwhile, sold 106,000, remaining hugely fashionable adjacent successful its sixth twelvemonth connected sale. 

With each saloons and estates taken disconnected sale, Volvo present sells exclusively SUVs. The intimately related XC40 and Volvo C40 Recharge open the existent range, portion the mid-sized XC60 fills the spread betwixt them and the seven-seat Volvo XC90.

The aboriginal of Volvo's non-SUV models has agelong been unclear. The steadfast has committed to offering a pure-electric scope by 2030, with caller EVs owed astatine a complaint of 1 per twelvemonth until then.

The new EX30 crossover volition onshore aboriginal this year, followed by the seven-seat EX90 successful 2024 and a successor to the XC60 successful 2025. 

Beyond that, Volvo has fixed nary categoric denotation that it volition straight regenerate its comparatively slow-selling S and V model lines with EVs, though brag Jim Rowan has hinted that lower-slung models volition return.

“Suffice to accidental we play crossed each the spectrums and range, and we person customers who necessitate antithetic vehicles and antithetic uses for vehicles," helium said. "We volition effort and marque definite that we tin seizure arsenic overmuch of that arsenic we perchance can.”

However, helium added that having "40 antithetic models" wasn't Volvo's strategy and that the line-up would beryllium designed to cater to segments successful the most demand. 

"We’ve teased what’s coming next and we had already signalled we would bash a smaller SUV," helium said anterior to the unveiling of the EX30. "Then antithetic formats, saloons and estates oregon whatever: we volition get to that erstwhile we get to that.”

Previous CEO Håkan Samuelsson suggested Volvo's aboriginal laic predominantly successful SUVs backmost successful 2021 erstwhile helium acknowledged that "people are truly fond of precocious seating positions". 

He did say, however, that Volvo would question to motorboat SUVs that were "more streamlined" and little "square", with "softer rooflines" successful the sanction of aerodynamic efficiency.