Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
Volvo Korea unveils 'dynamic Swedish' new S60
Volvo Cars Korea CEO Lee Yun-mo speaks during a press conference unveiling The New S60 at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Volvo Cars Korea
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Volvo Cars Korea has launched the new S60 sedan as it strives to introduce the “joy of driving” to the new generation, the company said Tuesday.
The new S60 is expected to sell at a starting price of 48 million won ($39,550) for a "momentum" model and 54 million won for an "inscription" model. The prices will vary depending on options such as system sensors and interior parts, according to Volvo Korea.
Volvo Korea said the new S60 is cheaper than in the U.S., where the full-change model sells at $54,000.
“The company has decided to offer the new S60 at competitive prices in order to claim a dominant share of the premium sedan market and attract more customers,” Volvo Cars Korea CEO Lee Yun-mo said during the press conference.
Despite the downsized market for imported commercial vehicles, Volvo Korea has defied the downward trend aided by its safety features and Scandinavian design.
“We believe that the new S60 model will further lead sales growth in Korea,” Lee said. “In 2019, we aim to sell 10,000 cars in Korea, up 17 percent from 8,524 units a year earlier, buoyed by rigid sales of our SUV models XC40, XC60 and XC90.”
In the January-July period, the company sold 6,095 vehicles, up 22 percent from 5,003 during the same period a year ago. As of Aug. 27, the pre-order for the new S60 reached 1,717 units, according to Volvo Korea.
The CEO said that Swedish headquarters realizes Korea is one of the world's most important automobile markets, and has been supportive in strengthening its brand awareness here.
As a result, Volvo Cars has seen continued growth in Korea since 2013, outperforming its rivals such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.
T. Jon Mayer, head of design at Volvo Cars U.S.A, said the company has changed design elements making the sedan lower and wider looking than its predecessor.
“For the exterior design, we've made changes to the proportion and the stance to capture Scandinavian essence,” Mayer said. “As for the interior of the vehicle, we wanted to display a warm, human-centric and inviting space.”
The S60 comes with the 2.0-liter T5 turbocharged gasoline engine that generates 254 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic transmission. It is equipped with a head-up display and city safety features, such as run-off road mitigation and blind spot information systems, Volvo Korea said.