GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Volvo Cars reported the best first quarter in its history as the company’s global sales increased by 40.8 percent compared with the same period last year.
Total sales during the period amounted to 185,698 cars, up from 131,889 cars in the same period last year. In Europe and the US, the company managed to improve sales compared to the first quarter last year, while managing to cope with the ongoing effects of the pandemic. China has by now recovered from the impact of the pandemic, which was peaked in Q1 2020.
For the month of March, Volvo Cars sold 75,315 cars globally, up 62.3 percent compared with the same month last year.
Volvo Cars’ Recharge line-up of chargeable models, with a fully electric or plug-in hybrid powertrain, remained strong and accounted for 26.0 percent of all Volvo cars sold globally in March. In Europe, the share of Recharge cars of overall sales was 39.0 percent.
For the first quarter of 2021, Volvo Cars more than tripled its numbers of subscriptions sold online through its Care by Volvo offer, compared to the same period last year. It also saw a quarter-on-quarter growth of 22 percent.
In China, sales increased by 117.7 percent in the first three months of the year, compared with the first quarter the year before. With a continued strong demand for the locally produced S90, the company recovered and improved sales that were lost due to Covid-19 restrictions. Total first quarter sales reached 45,242 cars, increasing from 20,780 in the same period 2020.
In the January-March period, US sales for the company reached 27,239 cars. That is an increase of 39.8 per cent compared with the same period last year, which was affected by the pandemic as many states implemented stay-at-home orders.
In the first three months of 2021, the company’s European sales grew to 87,457 cars, up 24.0 per cent compared to the same period last year. The increase was mainly driven by markets that managed to cope with pandemic-related shutdowns, as well as a strong sales increase in Sweden and the UK.
A detailed break-up of regional sales is given below:
|
|
March |
|
|
January-March |
|
|
|
|
2020 |
2021 |
Change |
2020 |
2021 |
Change |
|
Europe |
24,258 |
38,673 |
59.4% |
70,510 |
87,457 |
24.0% |
|
China |
9,560 |
15,999 |
67.4.% |
20,780 |
45,242 |
117.7% |
|
US |
5,487 |
9,924 |
80.9% |
19,485 |
27,239 |
39.8% |
|
Other |
7,090 |
10,719 |
51.2% |
21,114 |
25,760 |
22.0% |
|
Total |
46,395 |
75,315 |
62.3% |
131,889 |
185,698 |
40.8% |
In March, the XC40 was the top selling model with sales of 23,958 cars (12,462), followed by the XC60, with total sales of 21,186 cars (12,730 units), and the Volvo XC90 with 9,893 cars (5,758 units).
Notes to Editors:
Volvo Cars’ Care by Volvo subscription offer is currently available in Germany, UK, US, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.
Volvo Car Group in 2020
For the 2020 financial year, Volvo Car Group recorded an operating profit of 8.5 BSEK (14.3 BSEK in 2019). Revenue over the period amounted to 262.8 BSEK (274.1 BSEK). For the full year of 2020, global sales reached 661,713 cars (705,452), a decline of 6.2 per cent compared to 2019.
About Volvo Car Group
Volvo Cars was founded in 1927. Today, it is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales of 661,713 cars in 2020 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding since 2010.
As of December 2020, Volvo Cars employed approximately 40,000 (41,500) full-time employees. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for APAC is located in Shanghai. The company’s main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US), Chengdu and Daqing (China), while engines are manufactured in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofström (Sweden).
Under its new company purpose, Volvo Cars aims to provide customers with the Freedom to Move in a personal, sustainable and safe way. This purpose is reflected into a number of business ambitions: for example, by the middle of this decade it aims for half of its global sales to be fully electric cars and to establish five million direct consumer relationships. Volvo Cars is also committed to an ongoing reduction of its carbon footprint, with the ambition to be a climate-neutral company by 2040.
