2015 Volvo XC90 spearheads model wave

The XC90 is being readied for sales this year, although it will not reach Australia until 2015, at the same time as Volvo is completing its design-driven work this week with the Concept Estate at the Geneva motor show.

The good looking Estate follows the earlier Concept Coupe and Concept XC and Volvo says the design work will be reflected in a new generation of products.

They have been funded from China, where Geely is Volvo’s new parent, but everything about them is Swedish.

“This business is about product. It’s also about market investments to lay the groundwork for the new products,” the international vice-president of Volvo Car Corporation, Thomas Andersson, tells Carsguide.

“Our owner is very long-term and that, in combination with the new structure, allows us to grow.

“The first car out is going to be the new XC90. It’s coming … But you won’t see cars in the Australian market in 2014. You will have to wait until 2015.”

Andersson admits that Volvo withered and battled during the time when it was part of the Ford empire, but says the three new concept cars show that things are about to change.

“All the steps are adding facets to the story and the equity behind the new architecture and platform. Design wise, functionality wise, safety wise.”

One of the major breakthroughs is a dashboard that’s been shorn of buttons and complexity in a pointer to a Volvo future where all but essential driving controls are moved to a tablet-style display.

“Not having to deal with buttons and controls for a growing number of functionalities is like being freed from a pair of handcuffs,” says Volvo’s interior design director, Robin Page.

Away from the concept car front, Andersson ten-fold sales growth in China in less than five years, stabilisation in Europe and a plan for the USA, including an engine strategy built around new four-cylinder powerplants.

But Andersson knows that cars are what counts and forecasts a quick and comprehensive revitalisation of the range, starting with the XC90 - a luxury SUV that has grown old and dowdy through more than 10 unchanged years.

“In this indutry, you cannot have a 12-year lifecycle and compete successfully. We have some core segments that we need to be in, and we are also looking at other segments where we could possibly grow. You have to deliver. Rather than over-expanding the range, we would rather focus and make success in the segments where we operate. We have to stay the course.”

He is confident that Geely has the cash and commitment to allow its luxury division to flourish in the same way that Indian cash from the Tata Group has revitalised Jaguar Land Rover in Britain and allowed the creation of classy newcomers such as the Jaguar F-Type sports car and all-new Range Rover.

“The interest from our Chinese owner is obviously very high. The difference between the current (Geely) ownership and previous (Ford) ownership is that we don’t have functional involvement from our new owners. We run very much as an independent company within the group. And there is a very strong understanding that Volvo needs to stay Volvo.”

This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover