If you’re on the fence about buying Volvo’s funky-fresh compact hatchback offering, the C30, you’d best make up your mind soon. As Autoblog reports, the entry-level Volvo will be going out of production in December, a victim of sluggish sales and declining demand. That means 2013 will be the last production year, making the last-of-the-breed C30 Polestar Limited Edition a potential collector’s item.
Launched here in 2007, the C30 had styling cues (like the large rear window) that tied it back to Volvo’s classic P1800ES compact wagon. Volvo never infused it with enough horsepower to make it a hot hatch (in production form, anyway), and as an entry-level offering, it never really delivered on the luxury promise of the brand. Sales were modest, numbering only some 4,500 units per year in the U.S., and that isn’t enough to be profitable.
Volvo’s official statement says the brand is focusing on “high volume products to better sustain our brand health and network viability moving forward,” which leaves us scratching our collective heads. Sales of compact cars are up in the U.S., so killing the only compact offering in your product line seems counter-intuitive to us. Worse, the point of entry into the Volvo brand is now the S60 sedan, priced beyond the means of many potential buyers.
Also, don’t forget that you can get discounted new car pricing with a free quote through qualified local dealer partners.
With no replacement in sight (since Volvo isn’t bringing its critically-acclaimed V50 to the U.S.), we really have to wonder what Volvo’s long-term strategy is.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
