Care by Volvo subscription service leverages Schwacke TCO data in Germany

15 July 2020 Care by Volvo, the car-subscription service of the Swedish premium carmaker, and Schwacke, the German division of Autovista Group, are collaborating to provide a free, personally-tailored car-cost check to determine the total cost of ownership (TCO) of over 150 models from various manufacturers in just a few steps. Care by Volvo and Schwacke’s assessment of the monthly costs makes it possible to decide whether a car subscription would be a worthwhile alternative to ownership. Many car owners significantly underestimate the maintenance and running costs of their vehicle. Fuel consumption is usually the first point of interest, but even the monthly costs for insurance and tax are often unclear. Most car owners completely ignore the largest financial expense: depreciation. Depending on the model, this can amount to more than half of the original list price within three years. ′While maintenance costs are usually in the car owners’ field of vision, the subject of residual value is almost always ignored. It is only when a vehicle is sold that it is discovered that potentially thousands of euros in vehicle costs were not on the radar,’ explains Thorsten Barg, managing director of Schwacke GmbH. ′Determining residual values for all passenger cars available on the German market has been one of Schwacke’s core competencies for over 60 years. Our TCO online tools even make it possible to adjust the equipment level of the vehicles so that there is an ′apples with apples’ comparison. Accordingly, we are pleased about the new cooperation with Care by Volvo, which provides exemplary cost transparency for end customers,’ he adds. Schwacke’s TCO calculations include all costs for servicing and maintenance, insurance, tyres and taxes as well as consumption of petrol, diesel and electricity. This information allows Schwacke customers to make total cost comparisons of different vehicle models. With the Care by Volvo service, the carmaker offers an alternative to the classic leasing of a car. In the car-subscriptions model, customers can order the car of their choice at short notice and change it again just as quickly. In addition to the usage fee, the monthly subscription rate includes all costs, including insurance, maintenance and other incidental expenses, except for refuelling. In order to enable consumers to make a clear price comparison with financing and leasing concepts, the free car-cost check relies, among other things, on Schwacke’s cost-analysis data. Interested parties receive an exact report by e-mail with all individual expense items. Due to the use of the Schwacke data, no detailed information has to be provided in the request, as the system automatically completes all relevant information based on the vehicle model being queried. Patrick Wendt, managing director of Care by Volvo Car Germany GmbH, explains the latest cooperation with Schwacke. ′With the new car-cost check, we achieve the greatest possible transparency. The statements drawn up by the independent experts provide a precise overview of how our monthly subscription rate is calculated and compares it with the current vehicle costs and/or with other brands. This gives customers a clear understanding of a vehicle’s maintenance costs on the basis of the independent data and allows them to better compare different offers. Everyone must be able to decide for themselves which offer they find fair and which one best suits their needs.’ The non-binding and free-of-charge cost check can be requested for more than 150 vehicle models from various manufacturers. The detailed maintenance costs are listed, taking into account the purchase price and depreciation. This allows interested parties to compare the actual expenses with individual Care by Volvo subscription offers at a glance. The car-cost check is available via the Care by Volvo website. The original article can be found in German on the Schwacke website here.