Photo: Volvo
Volvo is on a roller coaster when it comes to sales, with numbers going up and down from one quarter to another. One month after announcing record sales of electric cars, the roller coaster is going down again.
The obstacles generated by the Covid pandemic seem to keep getting in Volvo's way. Although it tries to remain optimistic about the future, it appears that the present insists on proving the opposite.
No more than two weeks have passed since CEO Jim Rowan declared for CNBC that Volvo has managed to overcome the critical chip shortage and that their semiconductor inventory is now "back at full supply." But a global crisis like the one generated by the Covid pandemic is not easy to overcome, or at least not all at once.
The hampered supply chain, the increased prices of raw materials, and people's emptier wallets caused the sales of Volvo cars to decrease in July by 21.5 percent compared to the same period last year. The most affected Volvo category is that of Recharge cars, and no improvement is expected any time soon. However, they want to maintain their target of a double-digit share for 2022 in fully electric vehicles.
Sales in Europe decreased by 29.1 percent compared to July last year, with only 15,893 units sold versus 22,408 units in 2021. The most drastic decrease was recorded in the U.S. market, where sales decreased by 40.7 percent compared to July 2021, with a total amount of only 6,868 units. However, there is also good news, given that sales increased by 6.4 percent in China, recording sales of 15,487 Volvo cars in July.
Volvo's short-term goal is to have steady sales, keeping itself afloat until this tumultuous crisis period passes. Volvo's predictability for the entire year 2022 is that sales will remain at the same level, maybe even slightly lower, with an increasing trend in terms of production.
No more than two weeks have passed since CEO Jim Rowan declared for CNBC that Volvo has managed to overcome the critical chip shortage and that their semiconductor inventory is now "back at full supply." But a global crisis like the one generated by the Covid pandemic is not easy to overcome, or at least not all at once.
The hampered supply chain, the increased prices of raw materials, and people's emptier wallets caused the sales of Volvo cars to decrease in July by 21.5 percent compared to the same period last year. The most affected Volvo category is that of Recharge cars, and no improvement is expected any time soon. However, they want to maintain their target of a double-digit share for 2022 in fully electric vehicles.
Sales in Europe decreased by 29.1 percent compared to July last year, with only 15,893 units sold versus 22,408 units in 2021. The most drastic decrease was recorded in the U.S. market, where sales decreased by 40.7 percent compared to July 2021, with a total amount of only 6,868 units. However, there is also good news, given that sales increased by 6.4 percent in China, recording sales of 15,487 Volvo cars in July.
Volvo's short-term goal is to have steady sales, keeping itself afloat until this tumultuous crisis period passes. Volvo's predictability for the entire year 2022 is that sales will remain at the same level, maybe even slightly lower, with an increasing trend in terms of production.
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