7:30 am, December 20, 2024
Volvo’s UK boss has said that the Swedish brand’s ‘results speak for themselves’ after the firm switched to an agency model.
Back in May 2023, Volvo announced that it would be closing its UK wholesale channel and moving exclusively to agency sales. In the process, the UK became the first market for the brand to make the switch.
During the same year, Nicole Melillo Shaw took over the Volvo UK managing director role and the brand has ‘really found our feet’ ever since.
‘I’ve got retailers who said to me that they wouldn’t go back. We’ve had a lot of support from the central team and I think that’s where everyone is coming together. The results speak for themselves – we’ve just broken through 60,000 (sales for the year) which is like a psychological hurdle.’
Back in October, Volvo cut its sales forecasts for the year, despite surpassing its third-quarter predictions.
Speaking to Car Dealer at the UK launch of the new EX90 in Surrey, Melillo Shaw said that Volvo was ‘ahead of the curve’ in terms of its electrification plans but added that its ‘softening’ of commitments – it recently revised its strategy to allow for a limited number of hybrid vehicles to be produced after 2030 – reflected consumer demand rather than the brand’s capabilities.
‘Our role to play is to ensure that we have enough options for consumers,’ she said.
‘What we’re seeing is hybrids being used as a really powerful step into electrification for those who currently aren’t sure. We’ve not got a plan to involve any more petrol engines, but hybrid and electrification are really critical to our ambitions. We won’t get to 100% electrification if we keep launching new petrol.’
Melillo Shaw will be a headline speaker at Car Dealer Live 2025.
The event, which takes place at British Motor Museum at Gaydon on March 13, will allow attendees to hear from leaders from across the automotive industry and exclusive research from a range of experts.
The Volvo boss will join the former Nissan chief and Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer, and dealer group Waylands chief John O’Hanlon as headline speakers.
Early bird tickets are still on sale, but discounted prices will end soon.
