Volvo AB share price up, ditches auto shows glitz to focus on online marketing

Volvo AB is changing strategy to appeal more directly to buyers, particularly focusing on online marketing instead of depending on auto shows as before. According to an official statement, the car maker will be taking part in only one motor show per region as of 2015.

Volvo also revealed that it intends to invest more money in e-commerce, as well as annual promotional events and dealerships. The Sweden-based company shared that it is planning to host more of its own events, such as the release of its new XC90 sport-utility vehicle, which is scheduled for the summer of 2015 at an art museum.

Volvos head of sales and marketing division – Alain Visser – revealed in an interview that Volvo intends to attend just one show in each region in 2015. This includes: Detroit in the U.S. in January, Geneva in Europe in March and Shanghai or Beijing in China in April.

“We have been doing what is expected in the car industry so far, and we’re going to do things that are unexpected,” Mr. Visser said. “We’re still a relatively small player in the global market… We’re not going to win by doing the same as others do. We believe that for Volvo there are better ways to communicate our product and our brands than going to motor shows.”

Until now, Volvo and its regional units have been attending a total of about 100 motor shows around the globe each year. Such a presence at the promotional forums has been related to a great amount of costs, which the company is now trying to divert to other priorities.

The car manufacturer is also trying to concentrate on its online sales in order to become more competitive to its major rivals General Motors Co. and Tesla Motors Co.

Volvo AB was up 0.86% to trade at SEK82.50 per share at 10:28 GMT in Stockholm, marking a one-year change of +1.66%. The company is valued at SEK174.62 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 24 analysts offering 12 month price targets for Volvo AB have a median target of SEK89.00, with a high estimate of SEK110.00 and a low estimate of SEK66.00. The median estimate represents a 8.80% increase from the last price of SEK81.80.