Safety first as Volvo’s EV UK sales accelerate, but shares still take a hit

The UK remains a key market for automaker Volvo, along with Italy and Belgium where its models shifted faster than anywhere else.

The Swedish carmaker, which is majority owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, said its global sales were up two per cent last month to 48,520, from the same period last year but shares fell three per cent this morning following the results.

European sales led the surge – up nearly 15 per cent – while US lifted sales up roughly eight percent and China dragged them down by almost 20 per cent as the month coincided with Chinese New Year celebrations.

Britain, Italy and Belgium accelerated the market growth, where there was also a shift towards electric vehicles.

Volvo’s Recharge cars, which includes both fully electric and plug-in hybrid models, made up nearly 60 per cent of total sales in Europe.

Global Recharge sales increased by 31 per cent year on year to a total of 19,742.

Volvo’s sales figures were revealed a day after it announced it was looking for a new chief financial officer.

This followed the resignation of Tina Hultkvist who had been in the role for 25 years.

Volvo commented: “Tina Hultkvist will leave her role with immediate effect but stands available to the company’s disposal during 2023”.

Jan Ytterberg, previous chief financial officer, will fill the role while Volvo searches for a successor.

The vehicle manufacturer is also currently wrestling with an unstable supply chain and rising energy costs.