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Final Up to date on: 18th Could 2025, 12:35 am
Volvo Automobiles remains to be main the transition from fossil-powered vehicles to electrical vehicles globally. In April, 11,697 totally electrical Volvos have been bought worldwide, accounting for about 20% of Volvo Automobiles gross sales. That’s a formidable share for a legacy automaker in 2025. One other 14,688 gross sales have been plugin hybrids, or about 25% of Volvo Automobiles gross sales. So, let’s first give props the place props are due and congratulate Volvo for being at 45% plugin car share already.
That mentioned, sadly, issues turned within the fallacious path for Volvo Automobiles not too long ago. Its full-electric automotive gross sales have been down 32% in comparison with April 2024. That’s in comparison with a 5% gross sales drop for delicate hybrids and an general gross sales drop of 11%. (Plugin hybrid gross sales have been up barely, by 2%.)
Throughout the primary 4 months of the yr, full electrical car (BEV) gross sales have been down 20%, delicate hybrids have been down 8%, and plugin hybrids have been up 11%.
I used to be wanting ahead to Volvo Automobiles reaching 50% BEV share within the subsequent yr or three, and perhaps 100% by 2030. So, it’s disappointing and a bit bewildering why Volvo BEV gross sales dropped a lot. So, I turned to EV gross sales knowledgeable Jose Pontes for any insights he had on the April gross sales drop yr over yr.
“The EX30 is down, primarily in Europe, because of MiC tariffs,” Jose famous. That’s the “Made in China” tariffs that the European Union not too long ago caught on BEVs from China. Volvo is a well-liked model in Europe, naturally, however when you jack up the worth of one thing, demand goes to drop sharply. Volvo Automobiles, after all, is now owned by Geely, and far manufacturing happens in China.
In the interim, Volvo could keep away from the excessive BEV tariffs a bit by shifting to extra plugin hybrid gross sales in Europe. (That’s productive, proper?) Nevertheless, in time, I anticipate Volvo to have options for the tariffs and to choose up constructive BEV gross sales momentum once more.
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