Cover Photos: Daniel Adams
Photos: Daniel Adams
1 / 1
Charles Frump, the managing director of Volvo Car Malaysia sits down to talk to us about his journey in his career and the direction of the company locally.
Having joined Volvo Car Malaysia as managing director in 2021, during the height of the pandemic, Charles Frump expressed his gratefulness for the local team who helped him adjust and feel welcome despite the lockdowns and movement control orders when he first started here.
Frump’s association with the Swedish automaker dates back to 2009 when he worked as the director of marketing at Volvo Car Japan. He has more than two decades of automotive experience in different markets and dynamics across Asia, the US and Europe, and has also held global, regional, and local roles in the areas of marketing, sales, customer service and network management.
Read more: The Volvo For Life campaign looks at safety from the psychological perspective
We sat down with Frump to discuss about himself, the brand and electrification.
Tell us about yourself and how you came into this role?
To start, I'm an American, married to a Japanese, working for a Swedish company in Malaysia. Prior to my move here, I was the managing director of Volvo Car India for four years, and before that, I was head of marketing communications for Volvo globally—so most of the ads and wonderful imagery were done by my team there. Prior to that, I was in the marketing divisions in China after Japan, where I first started with the company; and it's been 20 years since I've been a part of the automotive industry as a whole.
Outside of work, I'm married for 23 years, an avid traveller and a foodie, as well as an ice hockey player. I play ice hockey about a couple of times per week, every Wednesday and Sunday—I've even joined a team that participates in an ice hockey league!
Above One of the video advertising campaigns Frump was part of, during his time as head of marketing communications for Volvo Cars Headquarters
How far along the way is the company in terms of its electrification goals?
At the moment we're trending quicker than probably the rest of the world. If you look at our global vision, by 2025 we should be at least 50 per cent pure electric, and fully electric by the year 2030. So all of our industrial systems are set up for that; we've stopped developing pure petrol engines, and all of the new cars we launch going forward are going to be pure electric, so that's the cadence of how things are working. And here in Malaysia, when we launched the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric, we said that we would like to try and hit 75 per cent pure electric by 2025, and I think we're going to be able to reach that goal with the progress we're making. It's a major change and there's lot of shifts but I'm more optimistic and confident of it becoming a reality now.
And this is also driven by demand, on top of government regulation which help the industry. Our customers tend to care more about the impact they have on the environment, and younger drivers are becoming more and more concerned about society and those around them. This of course is coupled by the support in terms of policies by the Malaysian government, for both electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids
What then happens to support for Volvo vehicles using internal combustion engines?
Our customers have nothing to fret about, we will still provide service and parts for the lifetime of the vehicle. We still will take care of whatever models you have.
How are you getting the general public prepared for an all electric future?
To begin with, we're first getting our sales team into EVs to begin with. It's something we've been discussing, but that's the best way to get them confident, and thus convince our clients who aren't already excited about the future.
But a major part of this also includes the set up of home charging systems. As of now, there are no plans to partner with other service providers in terms of setting up charging stations—we're looking to leverage on the readily available public infrastructure on top of pushing for home charging stations. That's a key enabler, for customers to be able to charge at home, and when you leave home knowing you have 100 per cent battery, with the range available on all our pure electric vehicles now, you're likely able to travel without range anxiety. At first, I myself was quite worried, but now, after getting used to the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric model, I realise I rarely feel unsafe and I only need to charge it around twice a week. I truly believe that if home charging becomes more available, there will be a surge in demand for EVs.
On top of all that, we also instil confidence in our customers with an eight year warranty on the batteries, which I think will give people some peace of mind; and we've realised also that even with our older plug-in hybrids, even those haven't needed a change of batteries yet, so that's a good indication.
Above Charles Frump, managing director for Volvo Car Malaysia
Charles Frump, managing director for Volvo Car Malaysia
1 / 1
What can fans of the brand expect to see in the near future?
Well the EX30 will be new to market, which will be then followed by the EX90, despite the latter being revealed first globally. The Volvo EX30 will be a new compact EV, slightly smaller than the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric, and we're certain it'll capture the right segment of the market.
And I strongly feel that from now, and between 2025 to 2030, there will be an evolution in infrastructure and people will be making the decision to go electric from different circumstances, but we want to let people know that they can already make an impact now, perhaps if not full electric to begin with, then the various exciting hybrid vehicles to begin with. It's definitely going to be the way forward.
NOW READ
Owning an electric car can now be more cost effective than gas, diesel or hybrids
Tatler friends celebrate the launch of the Volvo C40 Recharge Pure Electric
If tall, dark and handsome is what you're looking for, Aaron Pereira ticks two out of three. This fine chocolate man (that is, a connoisseur of fine chocolate), enjoys the theatre, futsal, real-life conversations and of course, the English language. He believes that language should first be used to express, but the business of a sub-editor is to impress.
Check out his Instagram @aaronlpereira.
