London Volvo Marks First Year

Volvo Cars London is celebrating a successful first year in business after increasing both new and used vehicle sales volumes.

The group, which hosted an awards ceremony for its top performing sales staff at the end of January, delivered more than 2,000 Volvos to satisfied customers in 2009, despite the difficult economic climate.

In addition to the encouraging retail sales performance, Volvo Cars London were also delighted to have been appointed by Volvo Car UK to operate the International Customer Sales Division for the UK; selling to British military personnel based abroad, plus diplomat and ex-pat customers.

Furthermore, the completion of a £1.3m refurbishment at the North London site in May 2009 means all Volvo Cars London dealerships now adhere to Volvo’s Next Face Corporate Image. In addition to this, the implementation of a number of after-sales initiatives helped the group break the 12,000 service visits total for the first time.

Tracey Perry, Managing Director of Volvo Cars London, said: "2009 was a tough year for businesses in any sector, but the motor trade was particularly hard hit. It has taken a tremendous amount of work and an innovative approach to help maximise opportunities such as the Government Scrappage Scheme.

"Here, Volvo significantly outperformed its standard retail market share on the back of strong offers and proactive marketing activity.

"These results are testament to the hard work and dedication that every member of our staff has invested."

Helped by the launch of the new XC60 and low emission DRIVe models, and boosted later in the year by the Scrappage Scheme, Volvo Cars London echoed Volvo UK’s sales success with registrations significantly up compared to 2008.

Used car volumes increased too, up by 44% compared to the previous year, thanks to the introduction of a robust growth strategy which aims to double used Volvo volumes within London in 2010.

The initiative was borne out to help focus on the sale of used cars despite the unique issues faced by Volvo Cars London selling cars in the Capital, where space for used vehicles is at a premium.

This is particularly true for the Group’s Central London location, a boutique showroom with no visible used car display, which has always had to rely heavily on online enquiries.

"Our aims for 2010 are continued growth across all areas of the business; sales and after-sales, and also to expand the group in identified strategic locations," added Tracey.

(PR/GK)