Volvo’s New Pitch: ‘Don’t Buy This Car’
The automaker says selling vehicles via “subscriptions” will help it build stronger ties to its customers.
Photographer: Lia Kantrowitz for Bloomberg Businessweek
Auto ads are nothing if not predictable, trumpeting the design and comfort of the latest models and urging customers to rush to the showroom. But in Germany, Volvo’s new campaign says “Don’t Buy This Car.”
Although the tagline sounds like it was drawn from the “never do this” lecture in Marketing 101, it fits with Volvo’s strategy of steering drivers toward “subscriptions” akin to streaming services such as Netflix or Spotify. Customers pay a single monthly bill that covers various fees and repairs—a plan that Volvo expects to account for half its output by 2025. “It’s very transparent, a hassle-free way of having a car,” says Volvo Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson. “You know exactly what it costs.”