How Volvo got customers to accept Ferrari-like wait times

“When I started at Volvo it was written in stone that if you ordered a car in three months you got your car,” Zurhausen, who is head of online business at Volvo Germany, told Automotive News Europe.

Today, a customer often has to wait longer than 90 days.

For example, because of software issues it will take almost two years for some customers of the EX90 flagship electric large SUV to take delivery. The wait time is up to four months on the new EX30 electric small SUV, according to Volvo Germany’s website.

The EX30 was also delayed for a short time at the start of the year.

“It is an achievement that the brand has developed to the point where people are willing to wait that long for a Volvo,” Zurhause said. “We’re not a Ferrari.”

When asked why Volvo has been able to keep customers from switching to rival automakers, Zurhausen said: “We have the right products at the right time.”

The executive, whose Volvo sales career has included providing cars to US military installations around the world and looking after large fleet customers such as Microsoft and IBM, said the automaker’s business in Germany — its fourth-largest global sales market — has never been better.