IAR Recyclers Newspress September / October 2015

19 / 24

“Pay Once and Never Pay Again” Volvo
Cars Lifetime Parts & Labor Warranty
Volvo to Build 1st U.S. Plant
Page 19 Recyclers News Press
Volvo Cars of North America will now offer a lifetime
parts and labor warranty for all Volvo vehi-
cles serviced after the factory warranty at any of the
211 U.S. Volvo retailers. Volvo customers can expect
to pay once and never pay again for replacement Vol-
vo parts and labor, excluding accessories and wear
items, for as long as they own their car. In addition to
the lifetime parts and labor warranty, customers will
receive free software updates, complimentary diag-
nostics, personal service, alternative transportation
and a complimentary car wash. The Service Ad-
vantage program aims to lower ownership costs and
encourage long-term loyalty. 1,2
Of course the announcement is also meant to boost
Volvo sales in the U.S. Volvo sold nearly half a mil-
lion cars in 100 countries last year, up 8.9% com-
pared to 2013. That growth was driven by strong
sales in China and Europe. But U.S. sales fell 8% last
year to 56,000. That's less than half the volume Volvo
sold in the U.S. just a decade ago. 3
Volvo will build its first car plant in the U.S
Volvo will build its first car plant in the U.S., hoping to
reverse a decline in sales in the world's second big-
gest auto market.3 China has passed the United
States as the largest market for car sales globally,
and most major automakers build cars in China. 4 But
until now those cars have been sold almost exclusive-
ly in China. The Chinese-owned car maker said Mon-
day it would invest $500 million to build the plant in
South Carolina (Charleston area) with a planned pro-
duction start toward the end of 2018. The first Ameri-
can built Volvos are expected to roll off the South Car-
olina assembly line in 2018. 4
The new plant is part of a U.S. revival plan the com-
pany announced in February. Volvo said it wants to
sell more than 100,000 cars a year in the U.S. The
company said it had a short list of potential locations
for the plant, but did not reveal how many cars it will
produce or the number of jobs it will create.3
Volvo said earlier this year it would start exporting
cars from China to the United States, the first major
global automaker to do that. Volvo was bought by
Chinese automaker Geely Holding Group in 2010
from Ford Motor. It has factories in Sweden, Belgium
and China. Asian automakers from Japan and South
Korea, such as Toyota Motor and Hyudai, today ac-
count for 45% of U.S. auto sales according to sales
tracker Autodata. That puts them just slightly ahead of
the combined sales of U.S. automakers General Mo-
tors, Ford Motor, Chrysler Group and Tesla. But just
over 70% of the cars sold in the U.S. by Asian au-
tomakers are actually built at plants in North America,
not in Asia. That's because shipping vehicles is ex-
pensive, and automakers need shorter supply chains,
said Ian Fletcher, analyst with IHS Automotive.4
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