The brand is looking to reach a UK sales target of 60,000 units by 2020 as part of its global ambition of selling 800,000 cars annually by 2020 and doubling its European market share. And it says fleet and business sales are set to play a big part in reaching that number.

Volvo’s UK business and fleet sales grew from 22,065 in 2013 to 28,563 in 2015 and the brand is looking to drive this further following the launch of the new S90 in December, further growth in XC90 sales, the introduction of T8 Twin Engines and healthy residual values.

“The Volvo brand is in a good place in the UK. The strength of our product range with its low emissions and tax efficiency is winning friends with fleets, SMEs and user-choosers alike,” explained Selwyn Cooper, head of business sales, Volvo Car UK.  

“Volvo’s business offering provides fleets with the bespoke service they require. We are continually trying to improve this area of business and have introduced a Fleet Hub to our main Volvo Car UK website, developed from our award-winning Co-Pilot programme, and by communicating with our existing fleet customers through our dedicated fleet magazine, VQ,” added Cooper.  

“We are also making more of our Swedish heritage which differentiates us from our premium rivals which customers like. This approach is supported by cutting edge technology and class leading safety features that are synonymous with the Volvo brand,” he added. 

The S90 has already made a big impact with its recent official reveal at the Detroit Motor Show with more product to come later in 2016 including the XC90 T8 Twin Engine. 

“Both these engines form the basis of our dynamic new global electrification strategy where plug-in hybrids will be introduced across our entire. These will be key new models for the corporate sector and will help us achieve our growth targets,” said Cooper. 

Volvo’s push into the fleet market is being backed by additional resources for its dealer development programmes and its Business Centre network, with a team of regional business sales managers in place, supported by the VCUK Business Centre in Harrogate.

It added that recent initiatives like the Volvo Retail Experience (VRE) are also benefiting the brand’s relationship with business drivers when they take their car in for service.