R.I.P Volvo S60 sedan.
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Another sedan kicks the bucket…
According to Volvo, production of the Volvo S60 sedan will stop at the end of this month. This will, of course, make more room at the Volvo South Carolina plant to produce their all-new SUV, the electric EX90.
I guess as sedans go, it’s no big loss since these days most people either have never heard of the Volvo S60 or don’t even know it was still in production. I also have to say, the current and 3rd generation was the worst looking. While the first and second designs looked pretty modern (especially the second one), the 3rd one was quite a visual disappointment. I guess it was just plain conservative compared to its predecessors, and has actually aged pretty well. Sale numbers were never good, with 2019 being its best year with just 17,526 units produced. Things went down to 10,357 last year.
Pretty bad but not that terrible when you compare it to the 13,369 units of the Audi A4 sold in the US. And Audi is getting an all-new generation ready very soon. The main reason for the cancelation seems to be to make room for the EX90 EV at the US factory. Which of course will sell in greater numbers, and will be exported around the world from the US.
That will allow Volvo to avoid the huge tariffs imposed on their Chinese-built EX30, through the “US Duty Drawback Program”. Which is a “refund of certain duties, internal revenue taxes, and certain fees collected upon the importation of goods and refunded when the merchandise is exported”. Since the Volvo EX90 and Polestar3 are produced in the US and exported, it will allow Volvo to recoup the tariffs on their Chinese-produced cars sold in the US, like the EX30.
With the S60 dead, I wonder what is happening with the V60 and V60 Cross Country, both sold in the US. Although not built in South Carolina but imported from Europe.
Are these dead too?