Volvo
Unveils Car Designed by Women Because
it's a concept car, there is no assurance the car will ultimately be mass-produced
for retail. Nevertheless, Volvo expects many of its ideas will find their way
into future cars.
"The
goals with the YCC are to introduce important automotive ideas to the market and
show the vast female brain trust within the automotive industry," said Tatiana
Butovitsch Temm, YCC project team member. "It would also be great if we could
inspire other women - and men - to question traditional business methods and create
positive change within organizations. Great ideas always come about when people
look within their personal and professional lives and ask: What could I do that's
never been done before?"
Female
Influence Strong in Volvo
Women are forming an increasingly important
customer group for Volvo Cars. In the United States, 54 percent of all Volvo buyers
are women. "This
car is a fantastic opportunity for us. We can concentrate on the fast-growing
group of women customers without losing the men," said Vic Doolan, president
and chief executive officer of Volvo Cars of North America. Volvo
has a long-standing tradition of listening carefully to what women want. In the
1980s, Volvo formed a women's reference group to test and assess new models within
their early stages of development. A women's focus group convened in California
played the key role in the distinctive functions and features of Volvo's most
recent commercial model, the XC90 sport utility vehicle. YCC
Team Members
More than 120 Volvo employees participated in the design,
development and production of YCC. All final decisions were made by women. The
YCC Project Team Leadership, who are all employees of Volvo Car Corp. in Sweden,
included: - Camilla
Palmertz, Project Manager
"Our aim is that you should feel great in
this car."
- Eva-Lisa
Andersson, Project Manager
"A car is a very technical product. Still,
your buy is based on emotions."
- Elna
Holmberg, Technical Project Manager
"A car is your choice. Therefore
it is very important that you can put your demands and wishes into it."
- Maria
Widell Christiansen, Manager, Design
"We are convinced that this car
also, definitely, appeals to men."
- Tatiana
Butovitsch Temm, Communications Manager
"The hallmark of a good idea
is that people ask why this hasn't been done before."
- Lena
Ekelund, Deputy Technical Project Manager
"In the YCC, we have retained
our focus on customer needs, not compromised it in favor of flashy technical solutions."
- Anna
Rosen, Exterior Design
"We wanted to create a beautiful car. Not brutal,
but tough."
- Cynthia
Charwick, Interior Designer
"The first impression you get of the car
is a feeling of grace and space."
- Maria
Uggla, Color and Trim Designer
"One way of being in control is that
you have the opportunity to influence your environment."
For
more information, visit www.volvocars.com.
(Source:
Volvo
Cars) (...BACK) |
