Customer demand has encouraged Volvo to restart sales of its popular estate cars in the UK. The Swede dropped them at the end of last year in favour of its SUVs.
Now, variants of the V60 and Volvo V90 will once again be on Volvo buyers’ shopping lists, at least in the UK. This is due to a resurgence in demand for estate vehicles. They go on sale there soon, though their S60 and S90 sedan equivalents did not make the cut.
The V60 arrives with a 147kW 2.0-litre mild hybrid petrol engine (0-100 in 7.6sec). Alternatively, choose between a pair of petrol plug-in hybrid powertrains (T6 261kW and T8 339kW). Two different spec levels will be offered.
The larger E-Class estate rival, the V90, will be available only with the plug-in hybrid powertrains. The T8 variant has a 0-100 time of 5.5sec. EV only range is 58km.
Asked by Autocar UK as to why the change of heart, Volvo responded “We removed the V60 and V90 from sale in the UK last August amid falling appetite for estate cars. While this remains a long-term trend, we have seen a resurgence for our estate products in recent months and have decided to reintroduce the V60 and V90 to our UK portfolio in response to this.
“When operating in a fast-moving industry, we continually re-evaluate our product portfolio to ensure we have the right mix to serve all our customers. As part of this process, it is not uncommon for us to remove certain models or derivatives from sale and reintroduce them later.
“We were thrilled by the many comments from customers and media last year, with many stories and memories of how our estate cars have been a huge part of their lives. We look forward to helping more.”
It isn’t known how long the two estates will remain on sale, as they were nearing the end of their natural lifecycles. Volvo declined to comment on this.
Recently published sales figures show that the V60 and V90 were Volvo’s slowest-selling global models in 2023. They clocked a combined 44,600 sales compared with the best-selling Volvo XC60 SUV’s 228,600. But calls for an estate revival from UK customers have clearly been heard, as this is Volvo’s third largest market.
Plans for any electric Volvo estate remain under wraps.
