Automotive News Canada - November 2023 - 14

14
* NOVEMBER 2023
EX30 is small but a big deal for Volvo
The automaker expects the
new EV to boost its already
significant sales gains in Canada
By PETRINA GENTILE
T ORONTO CORRESPONDENT
VOLVO'S MOST AFFORDABLE ELECTRIC
vehicle is a " huge steppingstone " toward boosting
EV sales globally, including Canada, said Michael
Cottone, president of Volvo Car USA and Canada.
The 2025 EX30 compact crossover, the automaker's
fourth EV model, will arrive in
Canadian showrooms in the first
quarter. It is also the quickest and
smallest vehicle in Volvo's lineup,
Cottone said in an interview Oct. 18
during the vehicle's global launch
in Spain.
Cottone:
Much of
Volvo's
" tremendous
growth "
in Canada
is coming
from plug-in
hybrids and
batteryelectrics.
FILE
PHOTO
" This car is a huge steppingstone
for us. It's an entry price point into
the luxury all-electric SUV market.
The EX30 is going to do tremendous
things for Volvo in Canada, "
especially when factoring in federal
and provincial rebates where applicable.
The
base 2025 EX30 starts at
$53,700 before rebates, plus $2,000
in freight and pre-delivery inspection
fees.
The EX30 also has the lowest
carbon footprint in Volvo's history.
The overall lifetime footprint is
25 per cent less than any other Volvo EV. It is made
with 25 per cent recycled aluminum, 17 per cent recycled
plastic and 17 per cent recycled steel.
A JOLT FOR CANADA SALES
" Our Canadian marketplace is doing very well
with tremendous growth, " Cottone said. " A lot of it is
[attributable] to our plug-in hybrid vehicles and our
all-electric cars. "
Volvo reported sales of 1,150 vehicles in October,
according to the Automotive News Research & Data
Center, up 41 per cent from the same month a year
The 2025 EX30 arrives in the first quarter as
" an entry price point into the luxury all-electric
SUV market, " said Michael Cottone, president,
Volvo Car USA and Canada.
PHOTO: PETRINA GENTILE
ago. For the first 10 months of 2023, Volvo is 20 per
cent ahead of 2022.
Volvo has ambitious targets for electrification -
half of its global sales are expected to be EVs by 2025.
In Canada, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles
make up about one-third of Volvo sales, according
to the automaker.
Volvo's EV lineup includes the C40 Recharge,
XC40 Recharge and the EX90 with its three rows of
seats.
The base EX30 is rear-wheel-drive (single motor)
with 268 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque.
Maximum range is estimated at 442 kilometres. The
twin-motor performance model is all-wheel-drive and
makes 422 horsepower and 400 pound-feet. It can hit
100 km/h in 3.6 seconds and has a range of 426 kilometres.
EX30
range is slightly lower than the competition,
however. The Tesla Model Y and Cadillac Lyriq,
which are already on the market, provide about 500
kilometres of range.
" For us, that range is on the higher end for Volvo, "
Cottone said. " We see it as a very competitive range
on the car. And for the value and the price of the car
versus the range and everything you get inside, you
get a well-packaged vehicle. "
The 2025 Volvo EX30 twin-motor performance trim
starts at $59,900 -$6,200 more than the base model -
plus $2,000 for freight and pre-delivery inspection.
The EX30 will roll off the line at a plant in China
owned by Volvo's parent company, Zhejiang Geely
Holding Group, as well as a plant in Belgium starting
in 2025. - ANC
23_007777_Auto_News_Canada_NOV_CN Mod: October 18, 2023 1:53 PM Print: 10/18/23 3:45:52 PM page 1 v7
A LWAYS IN STOCK
OVER 650 CARTS AND TRUCKS
Her resourcefulness helps
manage customer and
retailer expectations
By JIL McINTOSH
OSHAWA CORRESPONDENT
SUMANA KUNDU
PREVIOUS JOBS INSTILLED
TIMELY PROBLEM-SOLVING
FROM COPIERS TO ROOFS TO
electricity, Sumana Kundu has
had a varied career, but all of it
has contributed to her expertise
as director of customer service
at Jaguar Land Rover Canada in
Mississauga, Ont.
" These were make-or-break
environments, " she said. " You
had to support customers immediately
or you could have power
stations going down, or the [roof]
project had to wait. "
That trained her to always be
resourceful, she said.
" Now my goal is to manage
both client and
retailer expectations,
making
sure the
stores have a
very modern,
luxury-type
experience,
and the customers
are getting
the level of attention they
deserve. I have to make sure I follow
through. "
Kundu begins her day by
checking the results of consumer
surveys, which come in
from across the automaker's 30
Canadian dealerships. If necessary,
she will follow through on
customer issues. She works with
three regional customer service
market managers but also visits
the stores when she can.
" It's important to see what our
customers are experiencing. "
Kundu, 48, earned a degree
in civil engineering. One of her
co-op assignments was with
Xerox. She continued there for
nine years, working in finance
and service while earning an
MBA.
π
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General Electric contacted her,
and she joined the technical service
department, supporting customers
globally. She then took a
supply chain role at a shingles
company.
" That was a gift of learning to
manage such a broad team and
supply chain, but I wanted to
work with clients, not products. "
She joined Jaguar Land Rover
Canada in her current role in
May.
" I thought there would be more
challenges not having that [automotive]
background, but I'm coming
in with that mindset of how
do we get our clients and retailers
what they need. I have a good support
system to overcome the barriers
we face. "
CONNOR ATTRELL
THE AUTO BUSINESS - AND
HYUNDAI - ARE IN HIS DNA
AS SALES MANAGER AT
Attrell Hyundai in Brampton,
Ont., Connor Attrell has followed
in the footsteps of his father, Bob,
who owns the dealership as well
as Georgetown Hyundai, about 12
kilometres away.
Sumana Kundu came to
the auto industry along a
varied path but picked up the
necessary problem-solving
skills along the way.
PHOTO: JAGUAR LAND ROVER
CANADA
" My grandfather had a mechanic's
shop, " Attrell said, and in
the 1980s decided to buy a Toyota
store, which now belongs to
Attrell's uncle. Bob worked at the
Toyota dealership before signing
on as a Hyundai dealer in 1991.
" When I left school at 19, I
didn't know what I wanted to get
into, so I worked at the dealership
during the summer managing
the fleet sales, " said Attrell, 29.
" I ended up being the used [vehicle]
sales manager when someone
left. "
He subsequently gained a broad
range of experience, including service,
inventory and fleet management
as well as in new and used
sales.
" I've done everything except
the parts department and changing
oil. "
The experience proved invaluable
when the pandemic hit just
as his father planned to open
Georgetown Hyundai.
" I signed
up the banks,
hired the staff,
set up all the
processes. It
was trial by
fire because
it wasn't anything
I had
ever done. We
had to be open
to change. "
With current
supply chain
issues that
have hampered
inventory,
" the old-school
sales process
with negotiations
and capturing
volume
has changed.
Connor Attrell's
goal is to
ensure Attrell
Hyundai runs
smoothly.
" It's apparent
to people when
employees get
along. "
PHOTO SUPPLIED
BY ATTRELL
HYUNDAI
Everybody's offering the same
thing, so it's a higher level of customer
service, and we pride ourselves
on that. "
His focus is synergy in the dealership.
" It's apparent to people
when employees get along, " he
said, and he credits his experience
for keeping things running
smoothly.
Treating employees with a high
level of respect, " doesn't cost anything.
I won't ask my employees
to do anything I wouldn't do, and I
hold them to the same standard. "
- ANC

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Automotive News Canada - November 2023

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