By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-22 18:28:24 | Updated at 2025-04-03 23:17:37
1 week ago
A Swedish automotive icon appears to be nearing its end in America.
Volvo is reportedly planning to pull the plug on its remaining American station wagons.
It's a stunning about-face for Volvo, a brand that once considered wagons the company's lifeblood in the American market.
This year, the company already discontinued the V60 Polestar, its sporty take on the cargo-friendly wagon, and now, rumors suggest the rest of the lineup could be on the chopping block.
If the rumors are true, it could spell the end to both lifted station wagons in the U.S. market: the V60 Cross Country and the V90 Cross Country.
But for station wagon sales in the U.S., the numbers tell a stark story.
Volvo sold fewer than 3,000 wagons globally in February 2025, while its bestselling XC60 SUV moved an impressive 17,658 units in the same period.
The V60 Cross Country saw February sales plunge 37.5 percent compared to 2024, while the V90 Cross Country fared even worse with a 52 percent decline.
Volvo's 240 sedan and wagon, called the 'brick,' sold millions of copies in the 70s and 80s
Volvo CEO Jim Roman recently hinted at the shift in an interview with Autocar.
'It's expensive to bring different models to the market, and it's expensive to keep those models in the market,' he said.
'So we need to make a choice: rather than bring out a [new] V90 for example, are we better to position [the XC60] in a slightly different way?'
For Volvo enthusiasts, this potential move represents the end of a significant chapter in automotive history.
Station wagon sales boomed for Volvo the 70s and 80s after launching the Volvo 240 models.
The 240, lovingly called the 'brick,' was sold as both a wagon and a sedan, combining sporty driving dynamics with a minimal Scandinavian aesthetic.
In 19 years of production, the carmaker sold 2.9 million global units of the chunky fan-favorite.
But American consumers have increasingly abandoned wagons in favor of SUVs and crossovers, leaving even the most dedicated wagon producers struggling to justify their continued existence in the market.
American drivers have increasingly swapped out their smaller cars for SUVs
Volvo's CEO, Jim Roman, recently said the brand might stop producing American station wagons
A Volvo mechanic took to Reddit to say he was 'sad' about the rumored extinction of wagons
On Reddit, a Volvo mechanic said that he has seen a dwindling number of the company's sedans pass through his shop.
'V60s and V90s are maybe 1 percent of what I work on,' he wrote on the social media app.
'I work on more XC70s than either and they've been out of production for almost a decade.
'It's really sad, the V60 is one of the best looking vehicles on the road, in my opinion.'
Volvo didn't respond to Daily Mail's request for comment.
For now, Volvo hasn't officially confirmed these plans, but if the reports prove accurate, it could mark the final chapter for one of the automotive world's most distinctive and practical vehicle segments in the American market.
Start struggle
Several other major automakers have been struggling with general car sales in the U.S.
The owner of Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler recently reported a 70 percent drop in profits in 2024.
The corporate owner of the brands, Stellantis, has released dozens of high-priced SUVs and is about to launch a series of newly-developed cars.
But the brand has also been wracked with negative headlines about poor build quality and shrinking demand at American dealerships.
Meanwhile, Japanese major Nissan might be in an even worse position.
Executives at the automaker have warned the company only has a few months of cash left before it could go extinct.
Nissan has been in talks with Honda for a potential merger – but it appears those talks concluded without a deal.
The company's CEO stepped away from the brand, and Moody's, a credit rating agency, dropped the company into 'junk' status.
