Tag Archives: Volvo

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Volvo sales results for Q1 2024

Q1 2024 is behind us and car manufacturers summarize their sales results. One of them is Volvo, which is more than satisfied with its sales because last month was the best March in the history of this Swedish manufacturer.

According to published data, Volvo sold 182,687 cars worldwide in Q1 2024, which is 12 percent more than in Q1 2023. Also, March was the most successful month in the company’s history with 78,970 cars delivered worldwide, which is 25 percent more than the same month in 2023.

“We are making good progress towards our annual sales target of at least 15 percent growth and in the months ahead we will focus on ramping-up sales of our EX30,” says Björn Annwall, Volvo Cars’ chief commercial officer & deputy CEO.

When it comes to sales of electric and PHEV hybrids, Volvo recorded sales growth of 24 percent with 33,558 units sold. It should also be noted that 23 percent of total sales in March were fully electric models, which is a good sign for a company that is striving to become fully electric by the end of the decade.

On the old continent, Volvo delivered 39,756 units, which is 33 percent more compared to the same period last year. Volvo was also successful in other markets with 15,315 cars (+50%) delivered in the US and 14,005 cars (+21%) in China. In March, Volvo delivered 22,402 units (+63%) and the Volvo XC60 remained the most popular model in the fleet. Other models such as the XC40 (20,557 units) and XC90 (10,826 units) achieved notable results.

Source: Volvo

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Volvo’s last diesel car is the XC90

Last year, Volvo announced that it will end production of all remaining diesel models in 2024, as the company’s goal is to become a fully electric brand by the end of the decade. After almost half a century and more than nine million diesel cars sold in the last 33 years, Volvo has decided that it’s time for the end. Their last diesel car is a Volvo XC90.

This SUV is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder from the VEA (Volvo Engine Architecture) family. It is the second diesel engine that Volvo has produced in its 97-year history. Their first diesel engine was produced at the beginning of the century, in the Swedish factory in Skovde, which in the meantime switched to the production of electric engines.

Diesel cars used to be in high demand, at least in Europe. In 2015, more than 50 percent of new cars sold in Europe were diesels. But since then, their demand has been falling rapidly. 2019 was the last year when the majority of Volvo cars sold were diesels. After that, a big drop in sales of these cars was recorded every year, and in 2022 it was only 8.9 percent.

“Electric powertrains are our future, and superior to combustion engines: they generate less noise, less vibration, less servicing costs for our customers and zero tailpipe emissions. We’re fully focused on creating a broad portfolio of premium, fully electric cars that deliver on everything our customers expect from a Volvo – and are a key part of our response to climate change,” says Jim Rowan, Chief Executive at Volvo Cars.

Source: Volvo

News

Geely took over Polestar from Volvo

In 2017, Volvo jointly with the Chinese company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group founded Polestar, a brand of electric cars. Six years later, the Swedish manufacturer announced that it was selling its share to a Chinese company, as it failed to establish itself in the electric car segment.

Although Volvo will no longer fund Polestar, the two brands will continue to collaborate on development and research, production and after-sales services. At the same time, Thomas Ingenlath, the head of Polestar, expressed his enthusiasm for the idea of Geely becoming the new majority and direct shareholder of this young company. The decision had a positive reaction from Volvo brand investors. After that, Volvo shares rose 40 percent.

All models launched by Polestar are based on Volvo technology. An example is Polestar 2, the first battery electric vehicle and mass production Polestar vehicle in the Volvo Car Group, premiered in 2020. It is offered in combination with one or two electric motors. The base version is powered by a single electric motor with 224 hp (165 kW) and 243 lb-ft (330 Nm). It is equipped with a 64 kWh battery pack that enables a range of up to 440 kilometers (WLTP). The most powerful version is powered by two electric motors with 408 hp (300 kW) and 487 lb-ft (660 Nm). It is equipped with a 78 kWh battery pack that enables a range of up to 480 kilometers. It also has AWD.

When it comes to future models, the Polestar 3 entered production at the end of last year, the Polestar 4 crossover coupe will arrive in 2024, while the Polestar 5 luxury sedan is expected to arrive in 2025.

Source: Volvo