On the Dash:
- Volvo Cars sold 148,239 vehicles from June through August, down 7.4% year over year
- China’s downturn and weaker U.S. EV and plug-in hybrid demand drove the decline
- Volvo expects a stronger second half on EX60 deliveries and new U.S. production of the XC60
Volvo Cars’ global sales fell 7.4% year over year in the three months through August, weighed down by a continued market downturn in China and softer U.S. demand for electrified vehicles, the company said Wednesday, according to Reuters. The Swedish automaker, majority-owned by China’s Geely Holding, sold 148,239 cars between June and August.
The decline is steeper than the 4% drop Volvo reported for the three months ending in July, when U.S. sales had posted double-digit growth for a third consecutive month. The company has reported year-over-year declines in every rolling three-month period since it adopted the format in February, including a 5.5% slide for the three months through May.
Sales for the period were greatly impacted by the continuing downturn in the Chinese market, the company said in a statement cited by Reuters. In the U.S., lower demand for fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars led to weaker sales. Moreover, the U.S. slowdown follows the loss of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, which Volvo has said hit its plug-in hybrid sales harder than expected. The automaker announced in March that it will pull the EX30 electric SUV from the U.S. market after the 2026 model year.
Electrified models still grew
Sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars rose 13% in the period and accounted for 53.5% of all Volvos sold worldwide. Fully electric volumes climbed 27%, while plug-in hybrid sales slipped 1%.
Volvo expects stronger 2nd half
Volvo is counting on a stronger second half. In its second-quarter earnings report in July, the company said it expects significantly stronger sales in the back half of the year on growth in Europe, a continued U.S. recovery and a still-challenging China market. It also expects strong positive free cash flow late in the year, ending 2026 roughly at break-even.
Much of that outlook rests on the EX60, the midsize electric SUV that entered production in Gothenburg this spring with U.S. pricing near $60,000. Volvo has said the model will drive volume growth as deliveries ramp up, and it plans to reveal two additional electrified models after the summer.
The company is also shifting more production to the U.S. to blunt tariff exposure. It plans to begin building the XC60, its best-selling model, at its South Carolina plant later this year, and it is consolidating global Polestar 3 production at the same site.
