Volvo’s sales of plug-in hybrids increased by 80% as pandemic impacts first half of 2020

The coronavirus pandemic may have impacted Volvo’s financial results for the first half of 2020, the company is confident this downturn is a temporary one. Case in point: sales of plug-in hybrids have increased by close to 80%, putting the carmaker well on its way to have its electrified models account for 20% of all global sales.

In the first six months of 2020, Volvo Cars recorded an operating result of SEK -989 million as revenue fell by 14.1% to SEK 111.8 billion.

Volvo Cars’ global sales during the first six months of 2020 fell by 20.8% to 269,962 cars, as governments in many key markets implemented stay-at-home orders or other restrictions on movement, severely affecting economic activity and showroom traffic.

Growing market share

In spite of this fall, Volvo managed to take market share in China, the US and Europe, where Germany was among the strongest performing markets. It also saw a, increase of 79.8% in demand for its plug-in hybrid models sold under the Volvo Recharge brand.

The company returned to sales growth in China in the second quarter and made up much of the ground lost in the first quarter, as it recorded an overall sales drop of only 3.0% in the first half.

The US also returned to growth in June, although sales fell by 13.7% year-on-year in the first half, while sales in Europe were 29.5% lower during the six-month period.

“The downturn we saw in the first half is a temporary one,” said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive. “We expect to see a strong recovery in the second half of the year and our Recharge range of electrified cars puts us in a strong position to meet the emerging trends we are seeing.”

Image copyright: Volvo Cars