Volvo cars sold, for the first time in its 89-year history, over half a million cars (totally 503,127 pieces).
Record results underline the strength of Volvo Cars’ on-going operational and financial restructuring. The results also support the company’s new product strategy, which strengthened well with the strong sales growth during the latter part of 2015 thanks to the launch of the new Volvo XC90.
Volvo Cars reports strong results from all the company’s three global core regions. Sales in Europe increased by 10.6 percent to 269,249 cars sold. This represents 53.5 per cent of the total sales volume. Volvo’s rebirth in the US was strengthened with a sales increase of 24.3 per cent over 2015. Sales in China stood still, but showed an upward trend towards the end of the year with an increase of 11.4 per cent in the fourth quarter.
The rising sales trend is expected to continue in 2016.
The second model in Volvo’s new programme – Volvo S90 – will be shown to the public at the Detroit International Auto Show (NAIAS), and its US sales start in the spring. In four years from now Volvo will have renewed its entire model range.
“I am very pleased to report record results for 2015,” says CEO Håkan Samuelsson. “With a successful 2015 behind us, Volvo can now begin the second phase of its global transformation. When it is completed, Volvo will no longer be a small player in the global car market. More records will be broken in the coming years.”
The second stage of Volvo’s transformation does not lack goals.
Over the next few years, Volvo Cars will continue the repositioning in order to successfully compete with global competitors. The company continues to renew its business operations in the US and develop its global automobile production. In the medium term, Volvo Cars will continue to grow in China, double its market share in Europe and increase its global sales to 800,000 cars. Volvo Cars introduces a completely new model line, its new engine technology as well as maintains its position as leader in automotive safety and self-driving cars.
Volvo’s larger 90- and 60-series cars will be built based on the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). Volvo will also implement a global strategy for their smaller cars by introducing the quality and the technical solutions that are available through the SPA on smaller cars in the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA).
Volvo Cars will continue to consolidate its position as a leading manufacturer of hybrid cars through a series of four and three cylinder hybrid engines that offer performance and emissions in the world.
The company will also for the first time to develop a fully electric car. In the medium term the car brand expects that at least ten per cent of annual sales will consist of electrified vehicles.
Volvo Cars has made significant progress since Zhejiang Geely Holdings in 2010 acquired the Swedish company, not least because of its increasing global production. This announcement in 2015 of its new plant in South Carolina, USA, means that Volvo now has an industrial presence in three global core regions – Asia, Europe and the United States.
