The Volvo EX30 is 'small but mighty'

At the 2024 Beijing Auto Show,Volvo EX30Reservation officially opened. This car is a brand new model launched by Volvo Cars for the small pure electric luxury SUV market. It is also Volvo's smallest SUV model to date. It is built on the pure electric architecture of the Haohan platform.

"Volvo EX30"

Why is Volvo launching the EX30? Yu Kexin, President of Volvo Cars Greater China Sales Company, said in a media interview, "Although it is not in the largest market segment in the Chinese market, it is actually a Taiwanese car targeting the global market. EX30 represents the current popular trend. The cutting edge is not simply to stack materials and add configurations, but to be 'small but powerful', to 'subtract from life and add to life', which is our original intention in building this car."

In terms of the creation of the cockpit, Volvo EX30 is making subtractions. "For many users, they do not need so many redundant functions, but pay more attention to driving pleasure. The EX30 has an echo wall speaker, a cruising range of 590 kilometers, and a 5.4-meter The ultra-small turning radius is very user-friendly, especially female users.”

In fact, Volvo was one of the first luxury car companies to announce a comprehensive electrification transformation, but Volvo did not abandon the entire gasoline vehicle market during the electrification transformation process. According to Yu Kexin, many traditional luxury brands have abandoned plug-in hybrid vehicles. Volvo will still have a product matrix of gasoline vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and electric vehicles in parallel in the future. Pure electric vehicles plus plug-in hybrid vehicles should account for more than 50%.

"Yu Kexin, President of Volvo Cars Greater China Sales Company"

Recently, Yu Kexin had an in-depth conversation with the media on EX30’s competitive characteristics, Volvo values, system changes, industry hot spots and other aspects. The following is the transcript of the conversation (abbreviated version):

Q1: Compared with BBA models, what is the biggest feature of EX30? Volvo and Polestar have similarities in their electrified product matrices. How to differentiate them?

Yu Kexin: Volvo’s electrification transformation strategy was announced very early, and it has been continuously polishing its models in recent years. In recent years, Volvo has still mainly sold gasoline vehicles, but it also has plug-in hybrid and pure electric models, which belong to a "hybrid" product matrix. We have not abandoned the entire gasoline vehicle market in the process of electrification transformation.

However, in the current environment, transformation is the general trend. For Volvo, the word-of-mouth sales of the EM90, which was launched last year, are very good. We hope to use EM90 to drive Volvo's brand upward, which is what every traditional luxury brand currently needs to do. Consumers who buy traditional luxury cars value not only the product, but also the brand value, which is a feeling that other brands or ordinary brands cannot give.

"Volvo EM90"

Volvo's 97-year brand history is a kind of inheritance. Its concepts of environmental protection, technology, and safety are different from other brands. For example, the EM90 is a luxury pure-electric MPV built for the top crowd. Its sales volume and customer reputation are very good, because this car is in line with current trends and Volvo's traditional genes.

Why are we launching EX30? Although it is not in the largest market segment in the Chinese market, it is actually a global car targeting the global market. Volvo EX30 is a brand new model launched by Volvo Cars for the small pure electric luxury SUV market. It is the first car brought by the Volvo brand to young user groups. From R&D, design to production and manufacturing, it follows global unified standards. It is a truly meaningful car. global models on.

We believe that luxury is a value, not just luxury. EX30 represents the forefront of current fashion trends. It is not simply stacking materials and adding configurations, but is "small but powerful". It combines strength and quality with its exquisite body shape, interpreting the design concept of "subtractive aesthetics" and "for life". "Subtract and add to life" is our original intention in building this car. Just like in the fashion world, natural simplicity is the main theme and never goes out of style.

"Volvo EX30"

As a global car company, we have a clear and reasonable plan for the release rhythm of each product. We believe that there is always a place for Volvo in such a "complex" market, because there are always a group of people who like simple but not simple designs, do not blindly follow them, and have their own ideas and opinions.

As for the distinction from other luxury brands, in fact, each model has its own positioning and audience. Volvo's brand differentiation is very obvious-safe, healthy and sustainable.

Q2: We see that the price of EX30 is more affordable than overseas prices, so how to reflect its value? How to make domestic consumers more aware of Nordic car design concepts? How to get consumers to identify with the value of “subtraction” in such an involutional market?

Yu Kexin: In the Chinese market, there is no doubt that when brand power is not enough, product power is needed to reflect the shortcomings of the brand. And when the brand is strong, it depends on whether the product can keep up with the times. The Chinese market is already a stock market. It is precisely in response to this market environment that the domestic pricing of EX30 is more competitive than overseas, which is in line with China's current mainstream demands. EX30 wants to be the first car for young people. We need to ensure that this car is recognized by young people and meets the current mainstream young people's demands for this car or this class of car.

For this car, we hope to convey Volvo’s values to users. From 2024 to 2025, we will continue to launch various levels of cars. Currently, the highest levels are in the E-MPV level (EM90) and B-SUV (EX30). For the layout, we need to convey Volvo’s brand concept in different market segments.

Nowadays the market is very volume, volume configuration, volume size. But are those features needed? I think it's worth discussing. Taking the EX30 as an example, it is equipped with Harman Kardon's soundbar audio, which maximizes the restoration of real sound, allowing drivers and passengers to get a "Live House" feeling at any speed, while also improving the sense of space in the car. .

The main customer group of the EX30 is young people, especially newly married families of two, or for old Volvo owners buying the first car for their children. This simple style is widely praised around the world. EX30 has won more than 20 awards in 7 countries overseas. Especially not long ago, it won the "Best Product Design Award" in the German Red Dot Design Award. top honors.

"Volvo EX30 central control interior"

Our competing products are not traditional new car-making forces, but we hope to bring products that have received wide acclaim around the world to China, hoping that everyone will accept the current cutting-edge lifestyle.

For many users, they do not need so many redundant functions, but pay more attention to driving and driving pleasure. The EX30 has a soundbar speaker, a cruising range of 590 kilometers, and an ultra-small turning radius of 5.4 meters, making it user-friendly, especially female users. Especially in cities with traffic congestion and narrow roads like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, it is particularly inconvenient to get out of the basement. To enter a narrow parking space, people have to climb out from the back row or trunk. EX30 solves this problem very well. Pain points.

Q3: There is an industry view that the second half of electrification is intelligence. Since all brands are working on intelligence, what are Volvo’s characteristics in terms of intelligence?

Yu Kexin: The core of Volvo is safety, and its core value is safety. We want to provide customers with a sense of emotional value, not only product safety and personal safety, but also an all-round sense of peace of mind. To the extreme.

Speaking of intelligence, many driving assistance systems now use suppliers and can be implemented in any car. Volvo’s intelligent system is a full-stack self-developed. We are one of the very few car manufacturers with complete independent research and development capabilities for ADAS. From the perspective of perception , integration of perception, decision-making and control, full-stack self-research, creating an industry benchmark for "intelligent security".

Q4: Recently, I feel that there is a kind of traffic anxiety in the industry. In the past, many car company leaders were engaged in live broadcasting. The reason is that now Huawei and Xiaomi, such as consumer goods, have entered the industry, taking away a lot of attention and traffic. How does Volvo view this phenomenon? Do we have a sense of crisis?

Yu Kexin: Every manufacturer currently has a strong sense of crisis. Volvo implements digitally driven process management. Through the Newbie system, it can master accurate data of the entire sales link and improve the overall efficiency of the system.

In fact, we have also seen that new media platforms such as Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu bring huge traffic and have very big dividends, so you will see the big bosses of various brands disappear one after another. The reason is that there are too many brands in the current automobile market and the market competition is fierce.

In the era of electrification, traditional luxury brands must have To C thinking and To C capabilities during the transformation period, and truly think about issues from the user's perspective; in fact, they should follow consumers, and we will be there wherever consumers like to go. Volvo is the first luxury brand to test the direct sales model, and it is also the most successful luxury brand currently adopting the "direct sales + dealer" model. Volvo adheres to the "middle path" of integrating dealer 4S stores + city center stores. Based on the concept of "user-centered" and the purpose of facing customers directly and optimizing customer experience, Volvo chooses a suitable operating model based on timing and products.

Including our own organizational structure reform, it is also completely from To B to To C. Continue to change the organizational structure and prepare for electrification transformation. From the bottom-up thinking, Volvo Cars focuses on the entire life cycle of user experience, driving comprehensive changes at all levels such as corporate operations, organizational structure, brand building, sales channel models, and digital management, so as to transform into the C-side.

CXM Department (Digital Strategy and Customer Experience Management): Deeply engaged in customer operations while providing comprehensive technical empowerment. Responsible for the strategy and implementation of customer experience and company digital transformation.

Value chain department: Integrate headquarters resources from the customer's perspective. Responsible for the entire value chain business in addition to new car sales, such as service products, after-sales management, after-sales collaboration, and value chain profitability.

PCM Department (Product Commercialization Management): Accelerate product updates and integrate launch resources. Responsible for product communication with the Swedish group headquarters and coordinating the launch of new cars.

For Volvo, we need to learn what we should learn, which is to transform with more than 300 4S store dealers. Between 2025 and 2030, Volvo will launch several new products every year, and by then there will be more products. , dealers made profits, customers accepted the brand, and the transformation was finally successful. As long as we adhere to our brand concept, our customers can think of the Volvo brand when they buy electric cars or petrol cars, because Volvo's safety genes have not changed.

Volvo sticks to itself and has a heritage of nearly a century. In the process of transformation, it will still adhere to Volvo's consistent standards and R&D verification processes, and will never bring cars that do not meet Volvo standards to the market. I think this is our own pursuit.

Q5: Recently, we have observed that many European and American car companies are slowing down their electrification transformation. I would like to know whether Volvo will continue to increase its efforts in electrification? What proportion of pure electric and plug-in hybrid sales do you think will account for Volvo’s future sales?

Yu Kexin: China has a vast territory. Pure electric vehicles can sell well in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, South China, and East China. However, the proportion of fuel and hybrid vehicles in the northwest and northeast markets is higher. The richness of the market makes it impossible to only The existence of pure electric cars. The climate, environment, and landforms of each region are different, so this is why the market share of hybrid vehicles is gradually increasing. Everyone knows that Volvo has the T8 model, which is defined as the highest configuration in our product matrix. We plan to communicate with users about all major models in June this year.

We believe that as long as models meet consumer needs, there will be a market, and plug-in hybrids definitely have a place in today's automobile market. Many traditional luxury brands have abandoned plug-in hybrid vehicles. In the future, we will still have a product matrix of gasoline vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and electric vehicles in parallel. Pure electric vehicles plus plug-in hybrid vehicles should account for more than 50%.

『Volvo S90(Panoramic car viewing) New energy T8 plug-in hybrid vehicle』

Q6: EX30 sells very well overseas, and the domestic market price is lower than overseas. What are your expectations for the sales of EX30?

Yu Kexin: It is indeed selling well overseas. More than 20,000 units have been sold in North America and Europe as well. As Volvo's smallest SUV, the EX30 has been a hot seller since its launch overseas. We hope that Chinese users can experience the charm of this overseas hot model as soon as possible. We do not have too much sales pressure on this car. We believe that the launch of EX30 will enrich Volvo's pure electric product matrix, expand new market segments, and attract a wider group of young users.

Q7: What adjustments has Volvo made in channels this year?

Yu Kexin: In fact, our system has undergone great reforms. We have a Newbie system, which covers the entire life cycle of customers buying and using cars, from clues, entering the store, car selection, car purchase, and car repair. For a complete system chain, we take this system as the main body because it faces customers. All data includes customer reports and customer ideas. Each data link can combine CRM into a department.

This system is to stand on the C side and look at the B side. In Shanghainese, it is the "customer's uncle". Every day we observe every customer's complaint in this customer process and what problems may occur in the management of our own B side. It is to stand on the customer side. Let’s look at the problems that arise in B-side management from a different perspective.

We have also set up a value chain department to put the traditional after-sales department together with used cars, major customers, boutique products, insurance, etc. Once connected, many things can be purchased from the client in one stop. At the same time, it has also produced a lot of chemical effects on the B-side management. It used to be vertical management, but now we are no longer regional management in the traditional sense. In the traditional sense, regional management refers to the feudal officials. The country is divided into five regions, with one person in charge of each area. There is a sales line, an after-sales line, and a market line. In this process, we discovered that we can truly manage customers in depth, allowing our dealers to integrate more resources. We look at a 4S store not as a line management, but as whether the store can help us improve customer service and enable dealers to earn higher profits. Now that the B-side is so busy, it is difficult for dealers to make profits, like Volvo or Maintaining a reasonable pre-sales gross profit is actually very valuable nowadays. This is the advantage of our system.