The company reported a 56.1% decrease in sales as the pandemic took hold of the automotive sector and local economy in early to mid-2020.
However, but Volvo Car Malaysia quickly recovered in the last six months of 2020 with total sales of 1,950 units, a 3.6% increase over 2019's sales of 1,883 units and setting a new record for the highest sales performance since the establishment of the company.
Volvo Car Malaysia managing director Nalin Jain said the company was very proud of its achievement despite the turbulent time and challenges faced.
"Through the collective efforts of our dealers and staff, as well as the opportune timing of the government’s sales tax holiday, we were able to finish a challenging year strongly.
"For us, seeing the results of our efforts has further recharged our drive to bring more premium, safe and sustainable cars to Malaysians,” he said.
During the government’s sales tax holiday, Volvo Car Malaysia saw their sales recover and recorded its second-highest sales of the year in July, indicating that the demand for luxury cars remains high as the car market began to normalise and the country headed towards recovery.
The renewed interest was driven by the sales tax holiday announced in the Malaysian Government’s Short-Term Economic Recovery plan, and also made possible with Volvo Car
Malaysia reinforcing its customer service channels and adopting new digital practices.
Volvo Car Malaysia also introduced a new Online Ordering System for customers to make online bookings from the comfort of their homes and implemented the Digital Silent Salesman (DSS) 2.0 – a platform that digitally displays all necessary details about the cars – across all Volvo showrooms in Malaysia.
The new digital practices are part of the company’s push for digital transformation across the entire value chain of its business and reflect its commitment towards
its sustainability goals by eradicating printed brochures.
With sustainability as the forefront of its goals in the coming years, Volvo Car Malaysia kicked off the Volvo Green Planet in the third quarter of 2020, a campaign aimed at driving awareness about the impact of high carbon footprint, which can be calculated via a Greenterest Calculator, and bringing the conversation to its customers with fully-electric test drives of their cars – Green Drive – and dispensing Green Seeds as a token to champion cleaner air.
As a leader in safety, 2020 saw Volvo as a group opening a much needed and controversial conversation on the perception of safety with its A Million More campaign, which came off the heels of the 180kph speed cap announcement in March.
Much like the initial reception towards the three-point safety belt, the speed cap was the topic of debate in 2020 in the automotive sector, to which Volvo takes a stance in its decision to ensure the safety of the people in cars and on the road, and save a million more lives.
Based on the past year’s performance, Volvo Car Malaysia aims to ride on the momentum from 2020 and is entering 2021 with renewed purpose and recharging all areas of its business, to continue to provide more Malaysians with a premium experience and freedom to move in a personal, sustainable and safe way.
Nalin said 2021 would be a big year for Volvo Car Malaysia as the company looked to switch all aspects of its business to incorporate more sustainable solutions and also bring in more products offerings to suit the different needs of Malaysians while helping them make more sustainable choices.
“We will continue to push for digital transformation to build a strong digital system to support our customer’s journey seamlessly – from the beginning of the buying process to owning a Volvo and the aftersales care that they need, while upholding our promise of professional service, leading safety technology, and a caring mindset in everything we do,” Nalin added.
