ONCE considered a ‘near-luxury’ brand, Volvo Cars is now sitting side by side with BMW, Audi and Mercedes and is priced very similar in most countries. Volvo has managed to bring over luxury customers and keep them happy by focusing on quality, high safety and design.
The previous parent
Under Ford Motor (before the takeover by Geely), Volvo Cars lost their image of quality and reliability. Now they have rebuilt that with very good designs but by keeping their DNA of safety first for all Volvo Cars passengers.
With Geely on board
In August 2018, Chinese automotive company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group gave an investment of about US$1.9 billion (RM7.74 billion) to revive the British sports car brand to compete directly with the likes of Porsche and Ferrari.
Geely’s buy into Volvo gave the company financial security and this brought them success. There was no synergy at all between the Geely’s simple and unassuming line-up of vehicles and Volvo's premium range when they first got together. A financial plan was put in place in which Volvo Cars would spend USD11 billion on a new platform, a range of new models and a new engine range.
When the Geely funded Volvo XC90 SUV arrived in late 2014, it was an immediate sales hit. By January 2015 it was already winning European awards and beating established SUV’s like the Discovery, X5 and Q7. The same will happen for Lotus ars very soon.
Lotus revival
The same can happen for Lotus Cars. Lotus Cars will be bringing supercar buyers to their new showroom around the world very soon. Imagine Volvo crafted interiors and turbocharged engines with Lotus design and handling. You will have an immediate rival to Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and even Porsche.
Back in town
In April 2020, this iconic sports car brand was officially back in Malaysia under a brand new importer. Surprisingly, Lotus Cars Malaysia was not sitting under the current Geely owned Proton umbrella as they had given up their flagship showroom in Sungai Penchala, PJ early last year and had it converted to a Proton dealership.
The very first Lotus under Geely to be sold in Malaysia will be the Exige Sport 410 in a stunning Signature Orange. This reworked Lotus will accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 3.3 seconds, which will probably be the fastest ride of your life before reaching a top speed of 290km/h.
The Exige Sport 410 has been developed to generate 150kg of downforce, sharing design cues from the Exige Cup 430, adopting a visually arresting revised lightweight front clam panel incorporating wider grilles and carbon fibre air curtains and front splitter.
Before its official launch, which has been delayed due to Covid-19, you can visit their website https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/dealer/toycarz-malaysia/# and leave your details and they will contact you. – The Vibes, December 7, 2020
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