They will however have to tread carefully into the uncharted digital waters especially in the United States else they find themselves in a position similar to Tesla where the electric car maker has been excluded from trading in some states, because of conflict surrounding their campaign to cut out traditional dealers.
"The plan is to have all our car lines in all our markets offered digitally," Volvo sales chief Alain Visser said in an interview. “Some 80 percent of Volvo customers already shop online for other goods” the sales chief added, “and research suggests many will do the same for cars in future.”
The times they are changing, and manufacturers are nobody’s fool considering the current trends concerning digital marketing and ecommerce. However it will take time.
Interestingly Volvo has also taken the decision to withdraw from all major global motor shows bar one per year in each of the three regions – Europe, North America and Asia – and stage its own global event instead. Presumably channelling the vast resources saved from skipping these auto shows into their digital efforts.
Don’t think that you’ll be able to buy your new Volvo like you would a CD online. "We don't see a car distribution network without dealers in the foreseeable future," Visser said, adding that vehicles sold online "will still pass through the dealer network" for delivery.
Read the Reuters report here.