Volvo Seeks to Reestablish Brand Identity

DETROIT – Volvo executives want to return the brand to its roots as an environmentally friendly automaker with topnotch safety features.

For the past several years the Swedish automaker has stagnated and fallen largely out of the public eye, and its sales have slid as a result. Through October, Volvo’s U.S. sales slumped 6.6% vs. year-ago to just 52,112 units, according to WardsAuto data.

Volvo, which in 2010 was purchased from Ford by China-based Geely, now has stable ownership and has begun an $11 billion reinvention.

A key element to increasing the automaker’s global relevancy is reestablishing its image, which executives admit has lost the uniqueness that once defined the brand.

“We want to systematically define what Volvo should deliver,” Hakan Samuelsson, president and CEO, tells WardsAuto during a media briefing here. “I think we have a very valuable heritage and strong position as a brand, but should work (the message) on a more global scale.”

The first step in strengthening its brand message is finding a new advertising agency. The automaker broke ties with longtime partner Arnold Worldwide last July due to a campaign it said did not present a consistent message.

As the search for a new agency continues, Volvo brass say the brand will become more visible, with plans in place to boost the marketing budget.

Samuelson says Volvo must reinforce its safety message, as most competitors now are stressing safety as a brand attribute, as well.

But unlike the competition, he says Volvo will concentrate less on trying to achieve 5-star rankings from government agencies and focus on “real safety.”

The executive predicts autonomous-vehicle technology will play a role in achieving the automaker’s ultimate safety target of having no fatalities in a Volvo vehicle by 2020.

Unlike other automakers, Volvo doesn’t view autonomous drive as a convenience feature, he says.

“The first step will be a device where you can improve safety and congestion, because people are sitting in (their vehicles) for hours a day going to the office and they’re distracted,” he says. He envisions a technology that allows vehicles to hook up in a series electronically through congested traffic.

Volvo also plans a new infotainment system with a human-machine element designed to reduce distraction.

Lex Kerssemakers, senior vice president-product strategy and vehicle-line management, says keeping young drivers who constantly want to be connected safe while driving is a challenge facing the entire auto industry.

“We need to guide that process as a brand,” he says. “We have a safety image to protect and we need to secure it. We believe people should not be distracted by infotainment.”

Volvo plans to introduce the system, with an HMI developed in-house, early next year. Kerssemakers says the new platform will allow the vehicle’s safety, navigation and information systems to “talk” to one another.

The system will replicate some of the smartphone-user experience, but will isolate certain vehicle functions from outside interference.

“Imagine a hacker playing with a phone and deploying airbags or ABS?” he says. “You have to secure certain areas and make sure signals don’t get into your car. That’s why we’ll always have a number of functions embedded in the car and those that are allowed on-screen.”

On the environmental front, where Volvo has lost its way, plans call for mating electrified and conventional powertrains on all new vehicles going forward.

“For many years, Volvo stood for strong environmental care, and that will continue to be one of our brand pillars,” Samuelsson says.

The final step in redefining the brand will be establishing itself as a maker of premium vehicles that differ from those offered by German competitors such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

Design will play a key role, Samuelsson says, adding consumers want to drive a vehicle that is a source of pride. He points to the Volvo Concept Coupe shown at the 2013 Frankfurt auto show as an example of the future direction.

“It’s a very clean, elegant, Scandinavian design,” he says.

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