Volvo CEO thinks buyers will return to wagons

Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson thinks the market pendulum will swing from SUVs back to wagons, and wants the automaker to capitalise on the change when it happens.

The CEO told Motor1 he believes a generational shift is ahead with some new buyers refusing to buy SUVs like the ones their parents own, and this could mean there will be a “shift back” to wagons. As such, Volvo is currently “looking into” adding more wagons to its lineup.

Mr Samuelsson added, “I think it’s not revealing too much that I think we will not only have SUVs five years from now.”

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With the local axing of the V60 last year, Australian Volvo showrooms are currently devoid of new wagons. Since the demise of the V90 last year, Volvo’s global wagon range is down to just the V60 and its V60 Cross Country pseudo-SUV variant.

There are eight SUVs (EX90, XC90, XC70, EX60, XC60, EX40/XC40, EC40, and EX30) in Volvo’s lineup, with just three sedan models (S90, ES90, and S60) and one wagon (V60) flying the flag for traditional body styles.

The slow-selling EM90 people mover is also available in China.

In 2025 Volvo sold 710,042 sold vehicles across the globe, and the top three models were the XC60 (230,655), XC40/EX40 (166,920), and XC90 (103,217).

Thanks to big drops for the S60 (down 40.2 per cent to 26,300), and S90 (down 36.1 per cent to 25,700), the V60 was Volvo’s top-selling non-SUV model (down 20.5 per cent to 27,100). With production wrapping up last year, the V90 notched up 8200 sales, down 17.2 per cent.

SUVs accounted for 87.6 per cent of all Volvo sales, up from 83.0 per cent the year before.

Aside from the desire to ride a potential sales wave or ripple, there are other reasons for Volvo to keep the wagon flame burning as Mr Samuelsson believes for “various reasons, we need the lower cars”. These include lower air resistance, which improves range, and with a lower frontal area “everything [engineering-wise] is easier”.

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