Volvo Cars starts 2021 off better than ever.
2020 may have been a challenging year for most car manufacturers – especially those in the premium segment. However, Volvo Cars have shown that it can not only bounce back but exceed any of its previous targets. In the first half of 2021, the safety-obsessed Swedish car maker sold just over 380,000 vehicles globally. This was an increase of 41% over the same period last year. Compared to its previous first-half record set in 2019, 2021 represents an increase of 11.7%.
Key Highlights
To get a good idea of just how much better things are for Volvo Cars globally in 2021, sales were up by 11% in June 2021 versus June 2020.
China (44.9%), the United States (47.4%) and Europe (35.4%) all reported double-digit growth compared to the same period last year.
Online car sales have increased by 5X versus what they were in 2020.
Volvo Cars’ Recharge line up of electric and PHEV models increased their overall share of sales by 150%, now accounting for 24.6% of all Volvo Cars sold worldwide.
The XC40 remains the company’s best-selling product, followed by the recently facelifted XC60 and then the XC90, which is now more than 6 years old and due a replacement.
Here’s the press release with more.
PRESS RELEASE
Volvo Cars reported its strongest first half year sales in the first six months of 2021 as it sold 380,757 cars globally, an increase of 41.0 per cent compared with the same period last year.
The overall sales increase was driven by strong demand in China, the US and Europe, all of which reported double-digit growth compared to the same period last year, when market conditions were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the month of June, Volvo Cars sold 68,224 cars globally, up 11.0 per cent compared with the same month last year.
For the first six months of 2021, the number of Volvo cars sold online increased more than fivefold compared to the same period in 2020. The overall increase was driven by rising customer demand in combination with a broadened offer in more markets.
Volvo Cars’ Recharge line-up of chargeable models, with a fully electric or plug-in hybrid powertrain, remained popular among customers and accounted for 24.6 per cent of all Volvo cars sold globally during the first six months of the year. Compared to the first half of 2020, the share of Recharge models increased with nearly 150 per cent.
US sales reached 63,754 cars in the first six months, up 47.4 per cent compared to the same period last year. The company’s SUV line-up, led by the XC60, XC90 and the XC40, remained popular in the region, contributing to the volume growth for the period. In June, US sales rose by 18.0 per cent to 12,258 cars.
Sales in China reached 95,252 cars in the first half, an increase of 44.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2020. Sales for the month of June came in at 16,680 cars, up 10.4 per cent.
For the first six months, European sales grew by 35.4 per cent to 166,822 sold cars, compared to the same period in 2020 which was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The increase for the period was mainly led by a strong performance in the United Kingdom. In June, European sales ended up at 28,695 cars, up 1.3 per cent.
A detailed break-up of regional sales is given below:
For the first six months of 2021, the XC40 was the top selling model with sales of 118,121 cars (2020: 68,359), followed by the XC60 with total sales of 113,500 cars (2020: 78,761 units), and the Volvo XC90 with 54,177 cars sold (2020: 37,918 units).
