Volvo to shake up badges

All new 2010 S60 will debut at Geneva show next month

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04 February 2010

By Tim Pollard

Volvo will overhaul its naming system in the coming years - removing some of the uncertainty over odd numbers in the same range, such as the S40 and V50.

Chief executive Stephen Odell today admitted he found Volvo's badges confusing when he first joined Volvo two years ago.

'When I arrived at Volvo I struggled to understand the nomenclature,' he admitted. 'Yes, we will be changing it.'

Under the new naming system, the S40 and V50 would carry the same number. 'And I've asked [new design boss] Peter Horbury to make the badges easier to read,' added Odell. 'Maybe it's because I'm in my fifties, but I struggle to read many of our badges.'

When will Volvo change its badges?

Not overnight, said Odell. 'You cannot align the nomenclature until you change the product.'

So expect new cars to carry new badges with a simpler hierarchy to appear later in 2010.

The good-looking new S60 saloon arrives later this year, fitting in neatly alongside the XC60, for instance. The same logic will be applied to all future model lines, cutting down on a range that current spans from 30 to 90; the S, V, C and XC letters will continue, however.

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