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According to foreign media reports, Volvo released sales figures for March and the first quarter of 2024. According to the data, Volvo sold 78970 vehicles worldwide in March, up 25 percent from the same period last year, setting a record high in one-month global sales. Global sales of new energy models were 33558, up 24 percent from the same period last year, accounting for 42.49 percent of the total global sales. Global cumulative sales in the first quarter were 182687, up 12 percent from the same period last year.

Broken down into major markets, Volvo's European market sold 39756 vehicles in March, up 33% from a year earlier, including 24856 electric cars, up 34% from a year earlier, accounting for 62.52% of total sales. Cumulative sales in the first quarter were 89670, up 23% from a year earlier. The US market sold 15315 vehicles in March, up 50 per cent from a year earlier, while cumulative sales in the first quarter were 30950, up 17 per cent from a year earlier.

The Chinese market sold 14005 vehicles in March, up 21 per cent from a year earlier, but sales of new energy models were only 1039, down 28 per cent from a year earlier; cumulative sales in the first quarter were 37958, up 4 per cent from a year earlier, of which 2443 were new energy models, down 36 per cent from a year earlier. According to the latest sales data, although Volvo's Chinese market also grew in the first quarter, it still lacks bright spots in the performance of new energy models.

At present, Volvo's sales in the Chinese market still rely on fuel cars, and the only electric cars are mainly mixed models. According to the official website, Volvo currently implements four domestic models in China, including S90, S60, XC60 and XC40, of which S90, S60 and XC60 launch plug-in hybrid models on the basis of fuel vehicles, while XC40 launches pure electric models on the basis of fuel vehicles. It should be noted that under the background of the substantial expansion of new energy vehicles, the luxury car market has been eroded by new power brands such as Azura and ideals, and it is difficult for "oil to electricity" models to become mainstream in the highly inner new energy vehicle market, which also leads to its average sales performance in the car market. Taking the 2023 retail data as an example, the top three Volvo models sold in China in 2023 were XC60, S90 and S60, with sales of 64758, 37022 and 21140 respectively.

Volvo, born in 1927, is a well-known Swedish luxury brand and is considered to be one of the first traditional luxury brands to start electrification transformation. As early as 2017, Volvo proposed a comprehensive electrification strategy and further deepened and clarified the market layout in 2021. In 2021, Volvo said it would account for 50% of its all-electric models by 2025, with the rest in hybrid models. Volvo will transform into a pure electric brand by 2030, when it will sell only pure electric cars, eliminating all cars with internal combustion engines worldwide.

At present, electrification transformation is considered to be an important part of Volvo's sustainable strategy, but from the sales data, Volvo's performance in the field of new energy is very mediocre. In August 2023, Volvo stressed that the Chinese market is one of Volvo's most dynamic markets in the world, and that the company will continue to accelerate its full electrification transformation in China and around the world. According to the plan, Volvo's pure electric models will account for 50% of total sales by 2025 and will be completely transformed into an all-electric brand by 2030, eliminating all models with internal combustion engines.

Volvo's last XC90 SUV, the last Volvo car with a diesel engine, went offline at Volvo's plant in Toslanda, Sweden, on March 26th. This move means that Volvo officially bid farewell to the 45-year history of diesel production and enter a new electrified era. But Volvo officials say it will still produce cars with gasoline engines until 2030, when it will only produce electric cars.

As a Nordic luxury brand, Volvo's choice to achieve electric transformation is a sign of embracing the market, but from the Chinese market, although the Chinese market is one of Volvo's most dynamic markets in the world, however, most of the electric models Volvo is selling are "oil-to-electricity" products, which means that "how to accelerate the electrified transformation in the Chinese market" is a difficult problem that it needs to solve now. In this context, Volvo in China electrified transformation pressure is not small.

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