Rocketing Volvo sales buck trend

Aug 28 2008 David Whinyates

Rocketing Volvo sales buck trend

WHILE most car dealers across the UK are feeling the effects of the credit crunch, Volvo dealers are laughing all the way to the bank with a huge upsurge in demand for the Swedish premium brand.

At a time when the new car market is down three per cent year-on-year, Volvo has notched up a 20 per cent sales increase, from 17,709 units January to July 2007 to 21,155 for the same period in 2008.

The introduction of the sporty R-Design package on Volvo C30, S40 and V50 models has been well received by UK customers, says Volvo, and the current top performers are the C30, with a sales increase of 96 per cent year-on-year and the V50, Volvo's best-selling model in the UK, which has already outperformed its total 2007 sales and is up 93 per cent with 6,151 registrations so far this year.

The fleet sector is proving a particularly happy hunting ground for Volvo with a 67.7 percent rise in fleet sales over the first seven months of 2008.