News

Car sales around the globe are severely affected by the pandemic, and lockdowns in several European countries keep customers from buying or leasing new cars at dealerships as they normally would, due to strict guidelines on social distancing or even enforced quarantine policies.

To give those who wish to get a car a safe way of doing so, the brand new Stay Home Store concept will allow customers in European countries that are in lockdown at the moment, such as Germany, France and Italy, to easily search, select and buy or lease a brand new Volvo online.

The Stay Home Store concept leverages Volvo Cars’ existing online sales tool and provides customers and dealers with a new, transparent and easy-to-use platform to interact, without the need to actually meet in real life.

Customers can immediately browse and choose from a series of attractive pre-negotiated prices and lease rates on new Volvos. Reflecting the current economic climate, the Stay Home Store concept also offers buyers additional flexibility options such as no down payments or payment-free car loan periods.

“We want to give customers the option of finding a new Volvo that suits them, without having to wait for the current pandemic to be over,” said Lex Kerssemakers, global head of Commercial Operations. “Our online sales team has developed a great online tool - and because we understand that getting a car is a big commitment especially now, we offer our customers additional financing options.”

The Stay Home Store offer will be made available on three models in each country, with the exact offer varying per individual market. Following an initial roll-out in countries that represent 60 per cent of Volvo Cars’ European sales volume, more markets are expected to be added going forward.

The launch of the Stay Home Store concept follows the introduction earlier this month of the Volvo Valet service in the United States, another example of how Volvo Cars is helping its customers navigate the effects of the current pandemic.

Under the Volvo Valet service, a new premium pick-up and drop-off service for car maintenance that is starting to roll out at participating retailers, Volvo owners in the U.S. can now have their cars serviced without leaving their homes or offices.

In China, a similar premium valet service for car maintenance is offered to Volvo customers via WeChat, the popular mobile platform used for a range of different services by Chinese consumers.

• The Volvo Stay Home Store concept will initially be available in the following countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom.