TORONTO — Auto subscription service Care by Volvo is part of the automaker’s strategy to survive and thrive in the digital age, Volvo Car Canada Managing Director Alexander Lvovich said Thursday.
“It’s an option for consumers who are looking for different solutions,” Lvovich told the third annual Automotive New Canada Congress in Toronto. “It’s a small percentage, but those customers want something different and we don’t want to lose them.”
If carmakers don’t respond to their auto needs, “the Amazons and Googles of the world will, and then it will be very difficult to get these customers back.”
Care by Volvo allows customers to do everything on line, including ordering their Volvos in fewer than 10 minutes, scheduling winter tire installation and storage, requesting 24/7 road assistance, coordinating delivery of their car through their local Volvo dealer and upgrading to a new luxury vehicle every 12 or 24 months.
The automaker found after three months of service, 92 percent its subscribers were new to Volvo. Forty-six percent of the customers are under the age of 35 and 50 percent of subscribers ordered through a smartphone or tablet.
Lvovich said the automaker is working with its dealers to ensure they benefit from the new service.
“Our key goal with massive change is to be working on it with our retail network in Canada because we want to make sure the guys are happy,” he said. “We think we’ve taken some steps, but there are still some steps to be taken to make sure we’re all on the same page and there’s money to be made and that the customer is taken care of.”
