AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/05 Report--

Volvo Cars, a second-tier luxury brand, took the lead in releasing the latest global sales figures, according to which Volvo sold 45,752 new cars worldwide in January 2020, down 9.7% year-on-year, meaning Volvo cars "lost" in the first month of the new year.

Volvo attributed the decline in sales of new cars to a decline in the European market due to changes in Sweden's tax system and a decline in sales in China. According to Volvo Cars, the new local tax system implemented in Sweden from January 2020 has led to a 31.9% drop in monthly sales of Volvo cars in Sweden, which in turn has led to a 12.9% drop in overall sales of Volvo cars in Europe.

Sweden, as Volvo's "hometown", its largest sales source is also the home market Europe, accounting for nearly 50% of sales, so policy changes have an inevitable impact on Volvo's global sales. Volvo is also likely to be heavily fined by the EU for introducing the latest CO2 emission reduction targets, so it hopes to accelerate its electrification strategy this year by increasing sales of plug-in hybrids to meet its carbon emission targets in the EU, which are expected to account for 25% of total sales in the region.

China is currently Volvo's second largest single market, affected by the domestic New Year and Chinese New Year holidays, Volvo failed to meet sales expectations in China in January this year, with cumulative monthly sales of only 10,015 vehicles, down 16.2% year-on-year, which is also the largest decline in sales in all regions. The best-selling models remain the Volvo XC60 and Volvo S90.

Obviously, the decline in sales in China also has a great impact on Volvo, but Volvo's sales in China are likely to decline further in February this year due to an unexpected severe epidemic in China in 2020, bringing new repercussions to Volvo's global sales.

In response to the fight against the epidemic, Volvo Cars has also made corresponding measures, in addition to donating 11 million yuan to support new coronavirus vaccines and procurement of emergency medical supplies, it will also relax the performance appraisal of its dealers, and will not set sales targets for February. In order to reduce the financial pressure on dealers, Volvo Cars directly provides personnel subsidies totaling more than RMB 10 million to dealer staff.

In addition, Volvo will negotiate with banks to reduce loan pressure on dealers and provide online training to strengthen online marketing capabilities and skills. Volvo also said it would provide free door-to-door, free road rescue in Hubei and free extended warranty services for car owners during the epidemic.

It is understood that Volvo's factories in Daqing Volvo, Shanghai Road and Bridge, Chengdu and Zhangjiakou (engine) in Heilongjiang Province are not affected by the epidemic, but some supply chain links may be delayed.

Even in the face of many unpredictable circumstances, Volvo Cars believes that Volvo's global sales will grow further in 2020. SUV models remained its best-selling segment in January, including the Volvo XC60, XC40 and Volvo XC90, with cumulative sales of 31,057 units, accounting for 67.9% of total sales.

According to Volvo's sales data for the whole year of 2019, 705,452 new cars were sold worldwide, up 9.8% year-on-year, achieving sales breakthroughs for six consecutive years. Among them, 161,436 vehicles were sold in China (including mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan), and 154,559 vehicles were sold in the mainland market for the whole year, ranking third in the domestic second-tier luxury list.

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