The 2016 Kinsey Report has revealed that the Volvo S60 and XC90 are best-in-class performers from a parts pricing and servicing point of view. The annual report, which serves as the South African motor industry’s benchmark independent service and parts pricing survey, sheds light on true cost of ownership across numerous vehicles available in South Africa – this year evaluating 69 cars in total.
The S60 – Volvo’s premium mid-size executive sedan – competes in a hotly-contested segment and has reflected exceptional favourability in terms of cost of ownership. In the 2016 survey, the S60 pipped one of its biggest premium sedan rivals with a considerable difference in parts pricing. The Report cites Volvo having “done a lot of work fine-tuning their parts pricing to good effect. Both manufacturers have increased the purchase prices of their cars by about R30 000, but Volvo has managed to decrease their parts costs quite considerably.”
To service, the Kinsey Report claims the Volvo S60 to be most economical, around R1 000 cheaper than another key premium competitor. Repair costs on the Volvo S60 were also reported as being lowest – along with Volvo’s crash repair parts: a whopping R100 000 lower than the most expensive-to-fix premium competitor vehicle.
The all-new Volvo XC90, which has now been on the South African market for just over a year, also performed exceptionally well in the 2016 Kinsey Report. Evaluated in the Executive Crossover category, the XC90 came marginally second in the parts pricing ranking, but still achieved a best-in-class position for servicing and crash replacement parts costs – cheaper even than some non-premium SUVs in the segment.
Greg Maruszewski, MD of Volvo Car South Africa, comments: “These favourable results in the latest Kinsey Report are further proof of our quest to dispel the myth of high cost of ownership on Volvo cars in South Africa. We know that our cars offer excellent value for money and that servicing them is also a cost-effective exercise – and the Report confirms it. Parts pricing is also a huge focus for us, and our efforts to reduce prices while also increasing overall value are clearly paying off.
“Of course, we also offer a comprehensive 5-year/ 100 000 km maintenance plan and warranty on all our cars, which feature service intervals of 20 000 km, making the ownership experience cost effective on the whole by default.”
