Factory-door pickup now an option for Kiwi Volvo buyers

Factory-door pickup now an option for Kiwi Volvo buyers

It’s the new car buyer’s version of attending the birth of a child - well, pretty close to it.

Swedish car manufacturer Volvo is now offering Kiwis the chance to pick up their newly minted vehicles straight off the production line at the company’s factory in Gothenburg. Proud new owners can then take their cars for a spin around Sweden - or beyond into Europe - before returning them to the factory for shipping to New Zealand.

Volvo has offered its Factory Delivery Experience to U.S. customers for 60 years, and this year around 1400 Americans will combine a Scandinavian holiday with their new car purchase.

They will be joined initially by one Kiwi who learned about the programme from his local dealership and convinced Volvo to tailor a factory delivery experience for him.

Having seen the potential in expanding the programme, Volvo is now in the process of taking it global.

“It’s a great way to connect to new markets and we see huge potential in offering factory delivery for all customers ordering their cars online,” says Jonas Thesslund, Volvo’s senior manager factory delivery experience.

Packages include flights, accommodation, insurance, airport transfers and a tour of the Volvo factory - itself a hugely popular attraction that caters for 20,000 people a year and books out months in advance.

Volvo also offers a range of packaged holiday tours designed to help its Factory Delivery Experience customers get the most out of their trip to Sweden.

“We aim to give the customers an extraordinary experience both in Gothenburg when they visit Volvo but also to add the extra things that are hard to find and know about if you don’t live in Sweden,” says Thesslund.

While most customers tend to return their cars for shipping within two weeks, Volvo will tailor packages to suit customers’ needs.

Volvo New Zealand is in the process of creating packages tailored specifically for Kiwis, with longer holidays that enable adventurous types to take an extended tour of Europe likely to be an option.

The one stipulation is that cars are shipped out of Sweden within six months of purchase to avoid paying local taxes.

The Christchurch customer departs for Sweden in July, where he will pick up his car and take it for a month-long cruise around Europe.

“He has got an amazing trip planned,” said Volvo New Zealand product manager Zac Burt. “And we are sure he is just the first of many Kiwis who will take up the chance to combine a tremendous holiday experience with buying a quality new vehicle”

Once returned to the factory, cars are cleaned and groomed to the same level as cars straight off the production line, meaning they will meet New Zealand’s strict biosecurity requirements when shipped here - and look as good as new on arrival.

-ENDS-

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