Dealers objected to signs at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show that declared, “Don’t Buy Our Cars,” and “Subscribe, Don’t Buy.”
By Paul A. Eisenstein | NBC
California regulators have launched an investigation of a pioneering Volvo program that many industry observers have forecast could usher in major changes in the way Americans acquire new vehicles.
The program, named Care by Volvo, enables motorists to “subscribe” to one of several models. The concept is similar to a lease, but it bundles in insurance, maintenance and other fees.
But the Care program has run afoul of dealers in many places, with some in California complaining that it violates franchise and consumer protection laws. Their concerns have been taken up by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles, which now will decide whether to fine the automaker, bar the program, or let it continue. Any rebuke by the DMV, industry observers warn, could threaten Volvo’s operations elsewhere, as well as the subscription services started by competitors such as Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.
“A lot of us thought that subscription programs were going to be the way to buy a car,” said Joe Phillippi, head of AutoTrends Consulting.
