“We lag somewhat behind the car industry in this respect, but there are clear trends in the truck industry indicating that design and colour are playing an ever-larger role in the establishment of the brand,” says Carina Bystrom, colour and material designer at Volvo Trucks’ design department.
According to Volvo, about 25 percent of Volvo Cars’ models are black, even though customers have fifteen different colours to choose between for each model. For trucks, however, the story changes, as customers are more interested in their functionality rather than in the aesthetics.
Volvo’s design department therefore launched about twenty new metallic colors in 2008 and 2009, as the company noted considerable demand for these colors. The interiors too feature colors that have been carefully selected. For example, the interior of Volvo’s trucks are dominated right now by grey.
“We’re looking at colours with somewhat warmer tones, creating a cosier atmosphere, but at the same time we want to retain our Scandinavian ‘feel’. For that reason, we’re not going to offer the sort of yellow-beige tones you find in American or German trucks, for example,” Bystrom adds.
“Together with technology and product development in areas such as the environment and safety, design is one of several important ingredients for being able to deliver competitive products in the future,” Bystrom concluded.
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