- After more than 636,000 cars, production of current XC90 stops today
- Last XC90 out of Torslanda plant joins Volvo Museum collection
- Torslanda plant now prepares for production of all-new XC90
Today marks the end of an era for Volvo Cars as production in Sweden of the iconic XC90 – a car that revolutionised the global SUV sector – comes to an end after 12 highly successful years.
The story began on 7 January 2002, when Volvo Car Corporation launched an eagerly awaited new model at the Detroit Motor Show. It was a car that dealers and customers principally in America had been yearning for – the Volvo XC90.
A car that would be awarded more than 100 international distinctions, including “SUV of the Year” as early as 2003, and that was named Sweden’s most valuable export product, with an annual export value of more than SEK 40 billion in the peak years. Before sales started in 2003, Volvo’s dealers had already received 15,000 orders.
636,143 XC90s produced
But all good things must come to an end. After producing 636,143 XC90s, a legend of the car world will leave the factory in Torslanda today to make room for the next generation of the XC90. The last XC90 made in Gothenburg will be driven directly to the Volvo Museum, also located in Gothenburg. However, production of the current XC90 will continue in Volvo’s new car plant in Daqing later in the year, under the name of Volvo XC Classic, which will only be sold in China.
The all-new Volvo XC90 will also be produced in the Torslanda factory. The car, which will be revealed in August, will start production at the end of January 2015.
Hans-Olov Olsson, who is currently the Vice Chairman of Volvo Car Corporation’s Board of Directors, was responsible for sales in the USA at the end of the 1990s. In 1998, he succeeded in convincing the company’s then CEO, Tuve Johannesson, that the company should invest in an SUV.
In August 1998, Volvo Cars project director Hans Wikman was commissioned to develop a proposal for a modern, 7-seater SUV that was not too large. The car project was named P28, was to be based on the same platform as the Volvo S80 and should be launched in 2002. The aim was to sell 50,000 cars a year, a goal that would be beaten by a clear margin – during the peak years 2004-2007, around 85,000 cars were sold each year. The USA has been the largest single market for the XC90, with record figures achieved in 2004 (38,800 cars sold) and 2005 (36,200).
At the same time as drawing up three design proposals, two in California and one in Gothenburg, a female reference group was brought together in California, including Swedish actress Maud Adams, to contribute their wishes and comments, as American women would make up a large proportion of the intended target group.
