Volvo Cars records 44% drop in global April sales

Volvo Cars sold 31,760 cars in April, down 43.8 percent (April, 2019: 56,535 units) on a year on year basis as demand in Europe and the US continued to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. China sales, meanwhile registered growth in April as showroom traffic began to return to normal levels.

In the January to April period, Volvo Cars global sales reached 163,649 cars, down 24.9 percent (January-April, 2019: 217,855 units) compared with the same period last year. The share of Volvo Cars’ Recharge line-up doubled in the first four months, from seven percent to 14 percent, year on year. Recharge is the overarching brand name for all chargeable Volvo models with a fully electric or plug-in hybrid powertrain.

China sales in April reached 14,724 cars, up 20.8 percent (April 2019: 12,192 units) on a year on year basis. In the first four months of the year sales declined by 15.6 percent (January- April, 2019: 42,078 units), compared with the same period last year.

US sales in April stood at 3,866 cars, down 53.8 percent per cent year on year. Between January and April, US sales declined by 23.3 percent to 23,351 cars, compared with the same period last year.

Volvo Cars’ sales in Europe reached 9,283 cars in April, down 66.8 percent versus the same month last year. In the first four months of the year, sales declined by 30.3 per cent year on year.

The European sales performance was significantly impacted in April due to restricted movement in several key markets including Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Belgium. In April, the XC60 mid-size SUV was the top selling model for the company, followed by the compact XC40 SUV and the large XC90 SUV.

Overall, SUVs accounted for 66.3 percent of the company’s total sales in April, up from 62.4 percent in the same month last year.