Volvo Cars reports 25% sales drop in April as lockdowns, supply woes weigh

An employee at a Volvo car dealer, wearing a protective mask is seen in a showroom, in Brussels, Belgium, May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman

STOCKHOLM, May 4 (Reuters) – Volvo Car Group’s (VOLCARb.ST) monthly sales fell 24.8% in April from a year ago, the Sweden-based automaker said on Wednesday, as lockdowns in China and global supply chain problems hampered production.

The Gothenburg-based company said however that demand remained strong, while the share of fully electric cars rose to 10% from 9% in March. It aims for 50% of its sales to be pure electric cars by the middle of this decade.

“In April, Covid-19 lockdowns in eastern China impacted retail deliveries in China and added more challenges to already weakened global supply chains, resulting in additional loss of production,” Volvo said in a statement.

Sales in China at the company, which is majority owned by China’s Geely Holding (GEELY.UL), declined 47.8% in April, while in the United States they fell 9.2% and in Europe 23.2%.

Volvo Cars reported last week forecast-beating profits despite higher costs due to the war in Ukraine, and a global shortage of semiconductors. read more

Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; editing by Niklas Pollard

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