Volvo Cars forecasts record sales for 2016

Premium car manufacturer Volvo Cars expects to register record sales in 2016 for the third consecutive year, Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive said today.

Samuelsson also forecast that operating profits would also improve in 2016 driven by growth in all of Volvo’s three main sales regions of China, Europe and the US.

The forecast came the same day Volvo reported it trebled its operating profit in 2015 to SEK6.6 billion (Rs 5,346 crore), up from SEK2.13 billion (Rs 1,725 crore)  for the same period in 2014, while revenues for the year hit SEK164 billion (Rs 132,840 crore) compared to SEK137.6 billion in 2014. 

Volvo also today reported an all-time sales record of 503,127 cars in 2015, the first time it has sold more than half a million cars in its 89-year history. Sales were boosted by the introduction of its new 90 series cars and strong sales of existing models. It also reported record sales for 2014 of 466,000 cars.

Volvo is implementing a SEK75 billion (Rs 60,750 crore) transformation programme as part of its long term strategic ambition to become a global premium car maker. Driven by the complete renewal of its product range, Volvo is aiming to almost double sales to around 800,000 cars a year in the medium term.

In 2015, the company made significant progress towards achieving these goals. Production of the XC90 SUV commenced. By the end of the year the company had received over 88,000 orders, far surpassing its initial expectations. Production of the XC90 also led to the introduction of a third shift at the Torslanda plant in Sweden for the first time since 2008, creating nearly 1,500 new manufacturing jobs.

In the first half of 2015, Volvo also restructured the company to more accurately reflect how and where it does business by incorporating its three joint venture operations in China, providing a more accurate financial and operational picture of the company.

In the second half of the year, construction started on Volvo’s new US$ 500 million manufacturing facility in South Carolina in the United States, which is due to be operational in 2018. The new plant means Volvo will be able to build and sell cars in each of its three core regions, Europe, the US and China, highlighting its global aspirations.

In December 2015, Volvo revealed its new S90 premium sedan in Gothenburg. The S90 is the second new model on Volvo’s modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA).