Volvo's Fully Electric Cars Shine Against Overall Sales Slump
By Reuters | 04 Mar, 2026

Strong growth in full-EV sales in a difficult global environment raises hopes for Volvo's plans to expand production of its EX60 SUV which enjoys strong demand in Europe and the US.

Volvo Cars' sales volumes fell 10% in the three months through February due to trade tariffs and other market headwinds, but sales of fully electric cars jumped, the Sweden-based group said on Wednesday.

Volvo Cars, majority-owned by China's Geely Holding, said in a statement it sold 156,965 cars in the period. Volumes for fully electric models increased 18% to account for 25% of all cars sold.

Sales for the period were weighed down by tough market conditions, "impacted by tariffs and unfavourable regulatory developments especially in the United States. The prolonged new year holiday period in China further affected our performance," it said in a statement.

"However, we are pleased to see steady growth in the sales of our fully electric cars."

Sales volumes of electrified cars as a whole, also including plug-in hybrids, were down 2% to account for 49% of total volumes.

Volvo Cars said earlier it would increase production of its new fully electric EX60 SUV, production of which is due to start in Sweden during spring, to meet strong demand in key markets such as Germany. 

The group last month reported a 68% dive in fourth-quarter profit as it adjusted prices in response to weak demand and forecast year-on-year volume growth in 2026 but braced for what it termed a "persistently tough external environment". 

U.S. President Donald Trump initially hiked import tariffs on cars from the European Union to 27.5% from 2.5% during last year's push to reset Washington's global trade relations. That was later reduced to 15%, applied retroactively to August 1.

Shares in Volvo Cars, which is due to publish its first-quarter earnings report on April 29, were roughly unchanged in morning trade. Year-to-date, shares are down 25%.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, additional reporting by Marie Mannes, editing by Louise Rasmussen and Louise Heavens)