Volvo to Ditch Premium Tag

The meanest of automotive industry critics said back when Geely took over Volvo that the Swedish brand is dead. The quality issues associated with Chinese products, even if they are based on fact or fiction, has made many wonder if a Chinese hand guiding the way for Volvo wouldn't force the carmaker end up hitting a brick wall.

Of course, is such a thing is to happen, it would do so soon. Unfortunately, the man put in charge of Volvo, Stefan Jacoby, isn't helping the Chinese cause. Willingly or not, the CEO keeps on saying things which, put together by a paranoid mind, would spell disaster.

The latest such gimmick comes just two weeks after the mind-twisting statement made by Jacoby: “Volvo will be even more Volvo than ever before.” Apparently, Volvo will no longer be Volvo even more Volvo then ever before. Volvo. Or something.

The CEO says now that the premium class usually associated with the cars manufactured by the Swedish carmaker is bad for the brand image. After all, premium means expensive and expensive means less customers.

“Let’s ditch this talk about premium,” Jacoby was quoted as saying by Autocar. “It sounds like a pricing strategy and it’s got an expensive ring to it. We need to focus on elegant Scandinavian simplicity, our own unique identity, and not copy our competitors.”

Scandinavian simplicity... Sounds great, but isn't that an IKEA commercial or something? Furniture is allowed to be simple. Cars on the other hand are a bit more complicated than dinner tables.