The chief executive of Volvo Cars in the United States is standing behind the automaker’s subscription service and believes that if it doesn’t pursue such ownership models, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos probably will.
This comes in response to a number of car dealerships in California, who aren’t particularly impressed by the program, recently calling it illegal and filing a 199-page petition to the state’s department of motor vehicles to prevent the automaker from offering this service.
While speaking at a conference during the New York Auto Show, Volvo Cars’ U.S. head Anders Gustafsson indicated that the automotive industry needs to pursue subscription services and defended the new ownership model available with the XC40, Bloomberg reports.
Also Read: Volvo To Offer 20 S60 T8 Polestar Engineered Sedans In The U.S. Via Subscription
The Swedish car manufacturer announced its Care by Volvo subscription program in November 2017 with the launch of the XC40. Those looking to pick up the new Volvo can do so through a single payment, which varies between $650 and $850 per month and bundles all car, insurance and maintenance costs into a monthly payment for two years.
During his presentation, Gustafsson flashed a Jeff Bezos quote on screen reading “Your margin is my opportunity.”
“We need to be open to new ideas. Otherwise, I think the guy that is chasing our margins, he will find out far faster than we do,” Gustafsson said in reference to the quote of Amazon’s founder.
Bezos is the world’s wealthiest man and, prior to his recent divorce, had a net worth as high as $150 billion. Amazon has been slowly creeping into the automotive world, with consumers now being able to purchase vehicles via its website.
