[Text/Financial Circle Society& Brother Dao Says Che Zhang Qian] Volvo in 2023 can be described as unpredictable and unpredictable. The "difficult birth" of EX90 has become the talk of the industry, and EM90 is jaw-dropping in the way of "changing shells". However, the most striking thing is the change of positions in the five senior positions. At the same time, a large number of model complaints and multiple recalls have also overwhelmed Volvo Cars, in addition, overseas layoffs and stock price declines have also made Volvo Cars' already uneven situation worse.
In the first quarter, Volvo Cars' sales in 2022 fell by 12%. In January, Volvo Cars released its sales of the previous year, with a total of 615,100 vehicles sold in 2022, a year-on-year decrease of 12%. In the same month, Volvo recalled 1,200 imported XC90 models due to the possibility of loosening of seat belt fixing bolts, affecting the restraint effect of seat belts and increasing the risk of injury to passengers.
In February, some media reported that according to the real user complaint information of the national automobile consumer complaint platform - Cheqq.com, from the entry-level Volvo S60 and XC40 to the Volvo XC60, which is the mainstay of brand sales, and even the Volvo S90 as the flagship of the sedan, a large number of owners have complained about the problem of paint explosion in many places on the body, such as the extremely obvious paint quality problems in many positions including the door, hood and engine compartment, and even some models have serious oxidation of the body chrome parts. Cracks in seals and other quality problems. At the same time, due to the unstable compatibility between the software and hardware of the brake control module, the brake control module may be mistakenly set to a fault state, resulting in the loss of brake assistance of the vehicle, and there are potential safety hazards, Volvo has recalled a number of models, including V60, V90CC, and XC90, a total of 4,103 units, and it is a new car of the 2023 model.
In March, the month of consumer rights protection, Volvo appeared in some 315 special articles, and the problem involved was the complaint about the blistering and cracking of the paint of Volvo models in the past six months.
In the second quarter, in April, due to the software defects of telematics and Internet antenna modules, when the vehicle emergency rescue system failed, the vehicle driver information module could not prompt normally. In extreme cases, the vehicle cannot be contacted by the emergency center, affecting emergency rescue and there are potential safety hazards, and Volvo recalled a total of 2,158 models such as XC60 and XC40. In addition, the release of EX90 opened the ruthless words of "the new forces will, we will learn it in three years, we will, the new forces will not learn it in ten years" was questioned by the media as not being able to eat grapes and saying that grapes are sour. In addition, the long-standing unresolved blistering cracks on the paint surface of the Volvo XC60 continue to ferment.
In May, according to media reports, Volvo laid off 6% of its workforce in Sweden, including 1,300 office jobs. In June, the auto market independently reported that Volvo's oil to electricity failed to change, sales could not bear to look at it directly, the price of new cars was inflated, and electrification was seriously lagging behind.
In the third quarter, in July, the second quarter financial report was released, the operating profit fell by 53.7%, and the stock price fell as high as 7.4% on the day, the largest intraday decline since the beginning of April this year. At the same time, the sales volume of new energy vehicles and the quality of the model complaints have once again become the focus of discussion. In August, a personnel change pushed Volvo to the forefront, and Volvo's different statements about Qin Peiji's departure and who to report to his successor were also interpreted by the outside world as Geely regaining control of Volvo, and the sales business in China was still under the jurisdiction of "Geely faction" executives. In September, according to foreign media reports, people familiar with the matter revealed that Volvo Cars plans to lay off about 700 white-collar employees in the United States and Canada, with a layoff rate of more than 10%, and will lay off regional employees through early retirement, which is expected to take effect in early October.
In the fourth quarter, the O-ring of the turbocharger oil pipeline of the vehicle was twisted during processing and testing, resulting in the possibility of O-ring breaking after loading, causing oil leakage. Leaking oil can come into contact with the turbocharger surface, which may cause the leaking oil to catch fire, a safety hazard, and Volvo is recalling 138 imported V60s. In addition, according to the first financial network, the strike of American auto workers escalated, and Volvo's truck brand was affected.
In November, Geely sold its stake in Volvo Cars, and Volvo's share price plummeted. In December, Volvo Cars' personnel turmoil continued, and an internal email about the job changes of five people circulated on the Internet, which involved three Volvo Cars sales company vice presidents in Greater China and two middle and senior people in the North region. It is worth mentioning that among the five executives transferred this time, Fang Xizhi, who served as the vice president of customer service of the sales company in Greater China, was reported to Volvo Cars' headquarters in Sweden by his subordinates in 2021 for violating the rules in the after-sales service bidding.
