Through Streamlining and China
Volvo and station wagons belong together like BMW and six-cylinders, but Volvo is also working hard to break those historical ties. Nevertheless, Volvo still sees a future for the station wagon, precisely because of electrification and China.
Say ‘Volvo’ and many still envision a square station wagon. This has not been current for a very long time, and after discontinuing the V90, Volvo now has only one station wagon left in its range. The role of the station wagon has also been almost completely taken over by SUVs and crossovers at Volvo, not least because it is attractive for car manufacturers to develop a single body style that can score worldwide. This applies much more to those high-legged models than to the station wagon, which traditionally has a large share primarily in Europe but is also receiving less and less attention here.
So, it’s over and out, or so it seemed. Speaking to ‘The Drive’, Volvo’s head of product and strategy, Michael Fleiss, is indeed hinting at new station wagons. “Even China is coming up with them these days,” says Fleiss. Indeed, there are quite a few (predominantly electric) estates on the price list there, from the modest BYD Seal 6 to the gigantic Stelato S9T. Fleiss also notes that station wagons have significant aerodynamic advantages over SUVs, which is particularly important for electric cars. He also observes that there are simply many enthusiasts for the station wagon form and that the estate is somewhat on the rise again compared to ten years ago. “Back then it was really a no-go, now it’s slowly coming back.”
The statements from this Volvo product boss do not get more concrete than that, but a brand new ‘combi’ from Volvo seems like a possibility again in the long run. The car will undoubtedly be fully electric, and naturally less square and clunky than the Volvo station wagons of yesteryear.
In the used car market, Volvo station wagons are, of course, still very much alive for a long time. If we set no other requirements, there are almost 2,500 Volvo station wagons for sale on AutoWeek.nl, ranging in year of manufacture from 1966 to 2026.