Volvo Car Corporation global sales up by 8.5 percent in first quarter of 2007.
Strong start for the all-new S80.
The global Volvo sales in the first quarter of 2007 reached 117,614 cars compared to 108,352 during the same period in 2006. This is an increase of 8.5 percent. During the month of March global sales increased by 7 percent. The Volvo XC90 was the best selling model with 21,600 units, followed by Volvo S40 at 17,085 units. The all-new Volvo S80 increased by 132 percent during March in the US market compared to same period 2006.
Sales in the major European markets increased during March with 9.8 percent compared to 2006. This result is mainly due to recent new model launches like the Volvo C70, Volvo S80 and Volvo C30 The strongest markets during the first quarter were France (45%), Belgium (25%) and Italy (23.7%).
The developing markets continued their strong growth. China increased by 18.7 percent in March and in total 60.5 percent for the first quarter. Russia continued its outstanding performance with a sales increase of 146 percent in March.
"We can now see the result of our aggressive product plan, especially in the European market place. However, we expect stronger sales and we should be able to grow our volume to record levels during 2007, said Fredrik Arp, President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation
"Its important that we continue to intensify our efforts within the global sales organisation to release the full potential of Volvo", added Fredrik Arp.
"In the US we still haven't seen the full effect of the Volvo S80 launch. And the Volvo XC70 and Volvo C30 will not be launched until later this year. However, I am confident that Volvo will perform well in the US during the second half of 2007, added Fredrik Arp.
The US sales were down 4.2 percent in March mainly due to the general economic trend in the USA. The overall sales in NAFTA were down by 4.8 percent for the same period.
Additional questions, please contact Maria Bohlin - +46-31-325 7079 or Olle Axelson +46-31-592600 at Volvo Car Corporation
