Volvo sets sales record in 2024, but warns of 'severe tests' ahead

Volvo set a new sales record in 2024 for the second year running – but boss Jim Rowan has warned that both the company and the car industry will be “severely tested” in 2025. The Swedish firm sold 763,389 cars last year, a rise of 7.7% on its previous record total in 2023. That also helped Volvo set a new high in revenue and operating profit. But while the company recorded double-digit growth in sales volume in the first half of last year, sales slowed down in the final six months due to slowing demand. And Rowan expects that trend to continue this year. Citing factors including the possibility of tariffs being imposed in a potential US-EU-China trade war, weakening demand in China due to the rise of local brands and growing used car sales there, and uncertainties over the speed of electrification in different countries, Rowan said 2025 would “be a year of transition”. He added: “The global car industry is facing several uncertainties: cyclical, structural, transformational and geopolitical. We have navigated this environment better and faster than many of our peers, but we and the rest of the industry will be severely tested this year.” Rowan said Volvo remained "ahead of our competitors" in the shift to software-defined vehicles – cars built around advanced software stacks such as the EX90 – and warned of the need to “not sacrifice the future on the altar of the present”. He said the firm would remain “diligent and disciplined” in the year ahead, while remaining focused on its long-term ambitions. Volvo will launch the new ES90 electric saloon shortly, with the EX30 Cross Country also arriving this year. Those will be two of five new launches this year, which will also include two facelifts and a new long-range PHEV for the Chinese market. Further ahead, Volvo is planning six launches in 2026. That will include the new electric EX60 SUV, a sibling model to the hugely popular XC60, which will start testing this year and will be the first model to use Volvo’s new SPA3 platform. Volvo’s success in 2024 was built on an impressive 25% rise in sales in the European market, where the firm sold 369,700 units. By contrast, sales in China – the firm’s biggest single market – fell by 8% to 156,400. Volvo’s sales were also down slightly in the US. The UK remains Volvo’s third-largest market behind China and the US, with the 66,400 cars sold here a rise of 32% on its 2023 total of 50,100. SUVs accounted for 85% of all sales, with the XC60 remaining the firm’s best-selling model with 230,900 sold. Full electric vehicles accounted for 21% of Volvo’s sales, up from 16% in 2023, with electrified cars (including plug-in hybrids) accounting for 46% of the firm’s total. The EX30 crossover was Volvo’s best-selling EV in its first year on sale, with 98,100 deliveries. Its success in Europe made it the third-best-selling EV in the region. Until now the EX30 has been built in China, but in anticipation of tariffs Volvo will start producing that model in Europe this year. It will also start to manufacture the EX90 large SUV in China as well as the US.

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Volvo sets sales record in 2024, but warns of 'severe tests' ahead

Potential trade war and Chinese market changes could hit the industry this year, says Volvo boss

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Volvo sets sales record in 2024, but warns of 'severe tests' ahead

Potential trade war and Chinese market changes could hit the industry this year, says Volvo boss

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