Volvo Cars to terminate dealer agreements with Bilia
24/11/2020 07:50
STOCKHOLM, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Swedish car dealership chain
Bilia BILIa.ST has received notice of termination for its
dealer agreements with Volvo Cars in Sweden and Norway, it said
late on Monday.
The termination, which has a notice period of two years,
covers both Bilia's car sales and services business for Volvo
models.
Bilia, a leading Nordic dealership with around 140
facilities mostly in Sweden and Norway, said its turnover for
sales of new Volvo cars in Sweden and Norway was about 6.4
billion Swedish crowns ($743 million) in 2019, compared to 29.5
billion in total for the group.
"The Car Business is subject to a global transformation and
we are convinced that Bilia will continue to play a central role
also in the future," Bilia CEO Per Avander said in a statement.
Bilia said sales of used cars were not covered by the dealer
agreements and hence not affected by the termination.
Volvo is trying to boost online sales, which it says have
accelerated during the pandemic, and aims to sell 50% of its
global volume online by 2025.
In September, Volvo announced it was buying Upplands Motor,
another major Swedish dealership, and that it planned a full
takeover of retailer Bra Bil, seeking to merge the two
businesses with its own dealership Volvo Bil.
Volvo is planning to use the merged businesses in Sweden as
a pilot for shaping its future car sales and strengthen its
direct contact with customers as they move increasingly online.
($1 = 8.6127 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard)
((johannes.hellstrom@thomsonreuters.com; +46850242388; Reuters
Messaging: johannes.hellstrom.reuters.com@reuters.net))