Tag Archives: Sales results

News

Volvo Sales Dip in November, but EV Momentum Shows a Silver Lining

Volvo Cars closed November with global sales of 60,244 vehicles, marking a 10 percent drop year-over-year and reflecting the continued growing pains of an industry in transition. But beneath the headline decline lies a more nuanced story—one that highlights Volvo’s shifting powertrain mix and the brand’s efforts to strengthen its foothold in the electrified space.

“November’s sales figures highlight the ongoing structural and transformational challenges affecting both Volvo Cars and the broader industry,” said Erik Severinson, Volvo’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Despite a decline in overall sales, we are encouraged by the growth in sales of our fully electric cars and accelerated deliveries of the new XC70 long-range plug-in hybrid in China.”

China, where demand for electrified vehicles remains brisk, offered one of the month’s bright spots. Meanwhile, Severinson acknowledged that sales in the U.S. continue to lag following the phase-out of EV tax incentives—an ongoing drag on Volvo’s American momentum.

Electrification Hits the 50 Percent Mark

Perhaps the most significant data point: Half of all Volvos sold in November were electrified, whether fully electric or plug-in hybrid. That’s a symbolic milestone for a company publicly committed to going all-electric by 2030.

  • Fully electric models accounted for 24% of monthly sales—14,594 units, a 4% uptick over last year.
  • Plug-in hybrids made up 26% with 15,785 units, though that figure dropped 12% year-over-year.

Add it up, and Volvo’s electrified lineup totaled 30,379 units for November.

The remaining half—mild hybrids and internal combustion models—fell harder than any other category, slipping 14 percent compared with 2024.

SUVs Continue to Carry the Brand

Volvo’s sales crown once again went to the XC60, the brand’s bread-and-butter midsize SUV. Even as volume slipped from last year, the model posted 16,267 units, comfortably ahead of the compact XC40/EX40 duo, which tallied 13,965 units.

The flagship XC90, nearing the end of its lifecycle as Volvo prepares its next-generation successor, managed 8,304 sales, down from 10,533 a year earlier but still an anchor in the lineup.

Year-to-Date: Still Behind 2024

From January through November, Volvo has sold 634,993 vehicles worldwide, an 8 percent decline versus the same period last year. Electrified models also dipped, down 10 percent year-to-date.

The biggest year-to-date slide continues to come from fully electric models, down 17 percent, suggesting that while monthly EV demand is stabilizing, 2025 has yet to match 2024’s momentum.

The Road Ahead

Volvo’s November performance reads like a snapshot of an industry navigating the messy middle between combustion and electrification. The company’s EV mix is climbing, its plug-in hybrid strategy is paying dividends in China, and yet global volumes remain under pressure from regulatory shifts, supply-chain friction, and soft U.S. demand.

Still, hitting a 50-percent electrified share is no small achievement. It’s a signal that Volvo’s long-term roadmap—one that leans hard into batteries and electrons—is taking shape, even if the transition still has its bumps.

Source: Volvo

News

Honda Stays in the Black Despite Industry Squeeze, Sets New Electrified Sales Record

American Honda wrapped November with 102,824 units sold, a double-digit monthly drop but still enough to keep the company 1.8% ahead year-to-date—a respectable feat in a market still hamstrung by semiconductor shortages and supply-chain snags. What’s keeping Honda’s momentum alive? A balanced product mix, big gains from fresh sheetmetal, and an electrified lineup that just notched a new annual sales record.

Honda: Trucks Pull the Weight, Hybrids Surge

The Honda brand delivered 91,582 vehicles in November and continues to run 1.8% ahead YTD. Light trucks remain the backbone of the lineup, crossing 60,000 monthly sales for the 10th consecutive month.

Passport Breaks Records

The all-new Honda Passport was the standout, logging its best November ever at 4,363 units, a massive 73% jump YTD. Honda’s midsize SUV continues to carve out its niche between the compact CR-V and full-size Pilot.

CR-V Continues to Dominate

Unsurprisingly, the CR-V led the brand—and the company—yet again with 29,421 units sold. More than half (54%) of those were hybrids, underscoring Honda’s accelerated shift toward electric-assisted drivetrains.

Other Notables

  • HR-V: 10,821 units, strong volume for Honda’s entry-level crossover.
  • Pilot: 9,234 units, continuing to rebound with the latest redesign.
  • Ridgeline: 3,352 units, up YTD as Honda’s unconventional pickup finds its audience.
  • Odyssey: 5,492 units, showing year-to-date growth in a shrinking minivan segment.

Passenger Cars Hold Steady

Honda cars nearly hit the 28,000-unit mark.

  • Civic: 17,353 units in November, with the Civic Hybrid setting a new November record at 6,426 units, accounting for 37% of the mix.
  • Accord: 10,613 units, with hybrids making up 47%.

Electrified Honda Models Smash Annual Record

Honda’s hybrid and electrified portfolio delivered 28,258 units in November, pushing the brand to a record 385,453 electrified sales YTD. That’s 30.9% of all Honda sales, and a clear indicator of where product planning—and consumer demand—are headed.

Acura: Momentum Led by Integra and the New ADX

Acura sold 11,242 vehicles in November, a marginal dip for the month but still 1.9% ahead YTD, with over 121,000 units sold so far in 2025.

Gateway Models Power the Brand

The entry duo—the sporty Integra and the newly launched ADX—hit their best combined performance yet with 4,781 units in November.

  • The ADX, Acura’s latest compact luxury crossover, posted a new monthly record at 2,837 units and already holds a segment-leading 30% share only months after launch.
  • The Integra recorded 1,944 units, its best since April, maintaining its own 37% segment share.

SUVs Back on the Rise

Acura’s SUVs totaled 8,659 units, up 6.5% YTD.

  • MDX + RDX: A combined 5,800 units, their strongest month since May.

The Bottom Line: Honda’s Strategy Is Working

Despite a rough November—cars down 5.6%, trucks down 18.8% year over year—American Honda’s broader story is one of stability and strategic success:

  • Light trucks continue to be the sales engine.
  • Hybrids are surging across both Honda and Acura.
  • New models like Passport and ADX are outperforming expectations.
  • Electrified vehicles are now central, not supplemental, to Honda’s sales mix.

The semiconductor bottleneck may persist, but Honda’s disciplined product cadence—and a customer base eager for fuel-efficient and electrified options—has kept the automaker not just afloat, but positioned for a strong year-end close.

Source: Honda

News

Polestar Posts Big Sales Gains—but Big Losses Too—as It Races Through a Turbulent 2025

Polestar’s third-quarter and year-to-date numbers are in, and the Swedish-Chinese EV brand finds itself in a familiar position: growing fast, bleeding cash even faster, and trying to convince the world it’s built for the long haul.

CEO Michael Lohscheller framed Q3 as a step forward in the company’s ongoing “commercial transformation,” pointing to a rapidly expanding dealer network and fresh retail spaces popping up across Polestar’s 28 global markets. Those efforts helped drive a 49-percent revenue jump in the first nine months of 2025, a rare bright spot in what continues to be a bruising year for the EV sector.

But as is often the case in the electric-car gold rush, revenue growth is only part of the story.

Sales Up, Prices Pressured, Margins… Ouch

For January through September, Polestar estimates it delivered 44,482 vehicles, a 36.5-percent YoY increase thanks to a stronger lineup and especially robust demand in Europe. The lion’s share of that growth comes from the company’s newer, higher-priced metal—the Polestar 3 SUV and the sleek Polestar 4 coupe-SUV.

Those pricier models helped push revenue to $2.171 billion, nearly 50 percent higher than last year. The company also leaned heavily on carbon-credit deals, booking $123 million in the first nine months alone (up from essentially zero a year earlier).

But margins tell a less rosy story. Polestar reported a negative gross margin of –34.5 percent, a result heavily distorted by a massive $739 million non-cash impairment charge on the Polestar 3 taken in Q2. Strip out that hit and adjusted gross margin still sits at –1.8 percent, slightly better than last year but still on the wrong side of zero.

Pricing pressure, rising tariffs, and residual-value guarantees in North America all conspired to drag margins underwater, and inventory write-downs didn’t help.

Quarterly Snapshot: Q3 2025

Polestar moved 14,192 vehicles in Q3, up 13.1 percent YoY, once again buoyed by Europe. Revenue climbed to $748 million, up 36 percent, with carbon-credit sales adding $33 million to the pot.

But the margin picture deteriorated again: gross margin fell to –6.1 percent (from –1.2 percent last year), and adjusted gross margin to –7.9 percent. A combination of tariffs, mix shifts, and residual-value adjustments kept the bottom line firmly in the red.

Net loss for the quarter widened slightly to $365 million, and adjusted EBITDA clocked in at –$259 million, down from –$176 million a year earlier despite ongoing cuts to marketing and headcount.

Still, Polestar entered Q4 with $995 million in cash, boosted by a $200 million PIPE investment from Geely chairman Eric Li’s investment arm and more than $3.2 billion in renewed and secured financing facilities.

A Dealer Network That’s Actually Growing

While many EV startups are shrinking their retail footprint, Polestar is sprinting in the opposite direction. The company added 11 new retail partners in Q3, bringing its global total outside of China to 141 active partners. Its hybrid agency/dealer model—once a philosophical war zone in Europe—seems to have found its legs.

Polestar also continues to lean on the global service network of Volvo Cars, giving it far wider aftersales reach than most young EV brands could dream of.

Product and Brand Highlights: The Stuff Enthusiasts Actually Care About

The financials may be grim, but on the product front Polestar is working hard to maintain momentum:

  • Polestar 5, the sleek electric grand tourer, made its public debut at IAA Mobility in Munich.
  • The Polestar 4 snagged a Red Dot “Best of the Best” design award and will become the first car to integrate Google Maps’ live lane guidance.
  • The Polestar 3 not only set a Guinness World Record for the longest journey by an electric SUV on a single charge, but also received a major 800-volt upgrade and 350-kW peak DC charging capability for the 2026 model year.
  • The first-ever Polestar Festival in the UK celebrated 45,000 Polestars on British roads.
  • The company also announced a reduction in R&D staff, part of a strategic shift toward using more existing Geely Group architectures to save development costs.

This mix of halo moments and pragmatic belt-tightening is increasingly becoming Polestar’s brand identity: equal parts moonshot and money-saving maneuver.

A Reverse Stock Split on the Horizon

In typical EV-startup fashion, Polestar’s financial restructuring continues. The company plans to execute a reverse stock split, adjusting the ratio of its ADS shares to its ordinary shares (currently 1:1). Details are expected soon, though the move is clearly aimed at stabilizing the stock and meeting exchange-listing requirements.

The Big Picture

Polestar remains one of the more credible EV-only startups in an era where credibility is hard to come by. Backing from Geely gives it scale advantages few new brands can match, and its products remain some of the sharpest, most design-forward EVs on the road.

But the company is still losing money at a rate that would make a Silicon Valley CFO wince. Impairments, tariffs, pricing challenges, and residual-value risks continue to weigh heavily on the books.

Still, the growth is real. The cars are real. And unlike several EV hopefuls that flamed out in 2024 and 2025, Polestar appears determined not just to survive—but to evolve.

2026 will tell us whether this is the turning point the company keeps promising, or just another lap in a very long race.

Source: Polestar