Volvo place their hopes on the new XC90 crossover to catch up with BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz in the premium segment.
The new XC90 will be revealed in Sweden on August 26. “There is no second chance, of course. This has to work. We're confident it will”, said Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson. The company is grasping at straws and its representatives seem to be taking part in some oratorical contest when talking about the XC90 model.
«I hope that through this product, it will allow Volvo to once again find self-confidence. To find once again, the territory that belonged to Volvo in the 50s and 60s, and to once again possess the market share it ought to possess”, said Li Shufu, chairman of both Volvo and its current owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.
Why so nervous? The crossover is based on the new platform. This model is the first one after the acquisition of Volvo by the Chinese carmaker Geely. The car is built around an absolutely new platform, which does not use any details produced by Ford, the company’s previous owner.
An interesting fact is that the major weapon used by the crossover is not applying the most advanced safety technology but … design. Well, at least this opinion was expressed by Andreas Bauer, a co-manager of the Autohaus am Goetheplatz dealership in Munich: «People won't buy the car for its safety features if they don't like it aesthetically.»
