The Swedes Are On A Roll!

Volvo reports best January in itshistory

Volvo is often considered thealternative premium marque to the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. But withthe latest sales results, that could be turning around!

Starting 2021 on a strong note, VolvoCars reported the best January in its history. Global sales rose by 30.2percent to 59 588 cars, boosted by a strong year-on-year performance in Chinawhere the company more than recovered losses from earlier COVID-19 shutdowns.

Demand for Volvo Cars’ SUV line-upremained strong and represented 71 percent of overall volumes, while thepopularity of its Recharge line-up of chargeable cars continued to grow. Thevolume of Recharge models more than doubled in January year-on-year, nowaccounting for 23 percent of all Volvo cars sold globally.

In China, sales grew by 91.3 percent to19 160 cars in January, as Volvo Cars’ biggest market more than recovered froma pandemic-related sales drop in the first month of last year. The salesincrease in China was helped by strong overall market demand, but also boostedby a sales ramp-up of the company’s XC40 compact SUV and the S60 sedan.

US sales reached 8 151 cars in January,an increase of 32.4 percent compared with the same period last year. Thecompany’s award-winning SUV line-up, led by the XC90, drove the strong salesincrease.

European sales for the month increasedby 9.0 percent to 24 857 cars sold, helped by strong performances in keymarkets such as Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. Recharge cars amounted to41 percent of total European sales.

South African sales were strong too. According to Greg Maruszewski, managing director of Volvo Car South Africa, the XC40 was the star of the show.“Sales rose by 37 percent in January 2021 (versus

January 2020). This is encouraginggiven the fact that the XC40 had a good 2020; it had an 8.40% share of itssegment in 2019; that grew to 14.70% in 2020,” he reveals.

In January 2021, globally the XC40 wasthe company’s top selling model with 17 770 cars (2020: 10 802 units), followedby the XC60 with 17 053 cars (2020: 13 353 units) and the XC90 with sales of 7564 cars (2020: 6 902 units).

Maruszewski says that 2020 was a landmark year for Volvo. “On a global front,we introduced our first all-electric car, the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric,which will come to South Africa soon. Our plug-in hybrid line-up range alsoenjoyed growth. We’re facing 2021 with optimism and we look forward tocontinuing to meet our customers’ ever-evolving needs,” he concludes.