We'd hate to wave goodbye to stylish, practical wagons like the V60 Cross Country.
Some trends come and go, but the SUV takeover just keeps building momentum to the extent that Volvo is now an SUV-only brand in the important UK market. Yes, the Swedish automaker that is so closely associated with the practical wagon body style now only sells SUVs across the pond, with the V60, V90, and S60 all no longer available to configure via the company's website. As perAutocar, these models can still be ordered but only as pre-configured vehicles from existing dealer stock. These three models follow the discontinuation of theS90in the UK earlier this summer.
Although the US and UK markets aren't always in sync, what happens in one often follows in the other -as was the case with the Ford Fiesta- so it could mean that time is running out to buy a new Volvo sedan or wagon in America.
Volvo has been on an aggressive SUV offensive over the last year, and at opposite ends of the price spectrum. That included the reveal of the high-tech EX90, followed more recently by the small EX30 that will beone of the most affordable electric luxury crossoverson sale.
"We continue to rapidly transform our product offer, which means not only moving towards full electrification, but also shifting to new platforms and technologies across all our cars," said Volvo in a statement toAutocar. "We will naturally need to evolve and consolidate our lineup as we prioritize fully electric cars and make this technological transition. As a result, we have removed further models from the UK lineup. These include the S60, V60, and V90. Demand for our existing SUV lineup continues to grow."
Volvo also said that while demand for its SUVs climbs, the "appetite for our saloon and estate models has fallen to very low levels in the UK."
When Volvo released its sales results for June in the USA, it didn't mention sedans or wagons at all. That's likely because, of the 12,933 cars the Swedish brand sold that month, 9,763 were SUVs - and that's before the EX30 and EX90 begin to make an impact.
In the USA, the V60 and V90 wagons have already been discontinued, with only their Cross Country siblings remaining. The current S60 has been in production since 2018 and the S90 even longer, so one has to wonder what's in store for these stylish models.
Early last year, there was a glimmer of hope thatnon-SUV Volvos would not die out completely. CEO at the time, Hakan Samuelsson, said the company will still "need lower cars with a more conventional body size. These low cars will be in addition to our high-positioned SUVs."
Jim Rowan succeeded Samuelsson and hinted that the company's S and V ranges could be replaced. "We have customers who require different vehicles and different uses for vehicles," said Rowan. "We will try and make sure that we can capture as much of that as we possibly can."
Volvo's heavier reliance on SUVs today was set in motion by the arrival of the XC90 in the early 2000s. The XC60 and XC40 followed, and while all are superb vehicles, it's difficult not to think of a stylish wagon as the quintessential Volvo. And, before they were bought for their looks, older Volvo wagons like the boxy 240established a reputation for bulletproof reliability. Volvo abandoning wagons feels like Ford deciding not to build trucks or Mini calling it quits on hatchbacks. While sales suggest otherwise, we hope Volvo USA doesn't follow the UK's lead.
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