Volvo had to give up on the station wagon – a year’s wait

Sales of Volvo’s station wagons fell by seven percent. Now many readers report that they had to wait too long for Volvo station wagons and instead opted for SUVs with faster delivery times.
– No wonder station wagons are selling poorly, I’m going to order a Volvo V60 this spring and I’ll be able to get one in 16 months if I get one. A reader says it should be an SUV.

Last week, Carup revealed that Volvo is discontinuing its popular cross-country hatchbacks in Sweden. Globally, the sales volume of combi cars fell by seven percent. In Great Britain, Volvo is discontinuing station wagons altogether. In Sweden, regular station wagons can still be ordered, but despite weak demand, delivery times can be very long.

Several readers contacted us after the articles and told us that they had to give up on Volvo’s station wagons due to extremely long delivery times, despite the seemingly low demand for the models. One reader had to wait 16 months and instead opted for a Volvo SUV with a significantly shorter delivery time. Another reader at a large Swedish industrial company says delivery times for the V60 and V90 are over a year, forcing several colleagues to order the more expensive Volvo XC60 Recharge as a company car.
– Problems at the supplier level or a strategy to move towards more expensive cars without selling station wagons? A reader wonders.

On Volvo Cars’ website, the delivery time for the Volvo V60, which was the best-selling car in Sweden, is quoted as 13-14 months. Volvo V90 available in 7-8 months. Delivery time for SUV bestseller XC60 is 6-7 months, XC90 will be received in 3-4 months. However, Volvo Cars denies that it is trying to sway buyers towards more expensive SUVs by having longer delivery times on less popular models.

– The short – and obvious in my view – answer is “no”. We don’t work like that! We haven’t become Sweden’s biggest car brand for 65 years by deceiving our customers. Delivery times for our various models are subject to supply and demand. During recent major problems with parts shortages, production prioritizes models with high global demand, says Magnus Holst, PR manager at Volvo Cars Sweden.