According to Volvo Cars, the company sold 61,483 cars in June, as sales in the USA returned to growth and markets in China and Europe both continued their positive trends.
Swift actions were taken by Volvo Cars to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and keep production facilities open, which limited the number of non-production days at its Swedish Torslanda plant to 15, well below the industry average, meaning the company is now well placed to cater for a rapid recovery in demand. . Online initiatives, such as the quick launch of Volvo Cars’ Stay Home Store, also contributed to the rebound.
In the first six months of the year, Volvo Cars sold 269,962 cars, down 20.8% compared with the same period last year. For June, sales figures were down by 2.1% compared with the same month last year, indicating a potential strong recovery.
US sales in June stood at 10,385 cars, up 4.5% compared with the same month last year, as sales bounced back strongly once states started to open up. In the first six months of the year, US sales declined by 13.7%, to 43,255 cars, compared with the same period last year.
In China, sales continued to grow year-on-year during June and reached 15,105 cars, up 14.1% compared with June last year. In the first six months of the year, sales declined by 3.0% compared with the same period last year.
Sales in Europe during June continued to show signs of recovery compared with the previous month as more countries in the region started to open up.
Volvo Cars’ sales in Europe reached 28,277 cars in June, down 6.5% versus the same month last year. In the first six months of the year, sales declined by 29.5% year-on-year.
In June, the XC60 mid-size SUV was the top-selling model for the company, followed by the XC40 compact SUV and the XC90 large SUV. During the month, SUVs accounted for 71.2% of the company’s total sales, up from 60.0% in same month last year.
The share of Volvo Cars’ Recharge line-up of chargeable Volvo models more than doubled in the first six months of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. Recharge is the brand name for all chargeable Volvo models with a fully electric or plug-in hybrid powertrain.
During the first six months of the year, the XC60 was the company’s top-selling model, with total sales of 78,761 cars (2019: 97,203 cars), followed by the XC40 with 68,359 cars (2019: 61,864 cars) and the XC90 with 37,918 cars (2019: 47,818 cars).
