Volvo sales fall by a quarter in April but EV lineup holds firm

Volvo Cars saw sales of its electrified models grew by almost a fifth in April, despite overall sales being down by a quarter.

The Swedish manufacturer reported sales of 47,150 cars in April, down 24.8 per cent compared to the same month last year. However, demand is still strong for the brands electrified range, with sales of its ‘Recharge’ models growing by 18.7 per cent compared with the same month in 2021, accounting for 38.4 per cent of total sales. The share of fully electric cars stood at 10 per cent.

For the January-April period, Volvo Cars’ sales reached 195,445 cars, down 21.3 per cent compared to the same period last year. The manufacturer cited Covid-19 lockdowns in eastern China impacting retail deliveries in China, adding more challenges to already weakened global supply chains, resulting in additional loss of production.

Volvo Cars also reported a supplier shortage of a specific type of semi-conductor, which will impact production during the second quarter. The company considers this a temporary setback and expects the supply chain restraints related to semi-conductors to improve during the second half of the year.

European sales for April reached 19,822 cars, down 23.2 per cent compared to the same month last year. Volvo’s electrified Recharge sales accounted for 51.4 per cent of the total sales in the region during the month.

Volvo Cars’ US sales for the month reached 10,022 cars, down 9.2 per cent compared to April last year, with Recharge models making up 44.1 per cent of the total sales. China sales declined 47.8 per cent in April to 8,579 cars compared to the same month last year.