Safe, solid and understated in a Swedish way, or a wannabe luxury brand pandering to a Chinese taste for excess and ‘bling’: that’s the debate causing ripples at the top of Volvo Car Corp, under Chinese ownership since 2010.
A culture clash between Volvo’s European management and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co, the brand’s owner, may have broader implications for corporate China. If Geely prevails in refocusing Volvo on China’s premium market, it could chart a course for other Chinese firms with global ambitions.
The Volvo Concept Coupi, to be unveiled later on Tuesday at the Frankfurt auto show, is a sign that Chinese ownership wants to shed Volvo’s sober image and grow sales significantly - by taking on established luxury brands such as BMW, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz and Audi.
According to four people close to Volvo and Geely, the Chinese firm’s billionaire owner Li Shufu believes China, where more than 1.2 million premium cars were sold last year, is key to Volvo’s future, and will help it hit a target of doubling annual global sales to 800,000 vehicles by 2020. Volvo’s year-on-year China sales grew by two-thirds in August to 4,319 cars. January-August sales were up 40 per cent to 37,661 cars.
To get to its target, Li, who is chairman of both Geely and Volvo, wants the Swedish carmaker to come up with a large premium sedan aimed at China’s newly wealthy who tout their social status with German luxury cars, such as the Audi A8 and BMW 7-Series sedans.
Managers at Volvo are not keen. Hakan Samuelsson, chief executive since late last year, believes it’s too big a risk for Volvo to give up a niche cultivated over decades with a focus on safety and Scandinavian understatement and try to take on German luxury car makers.