Volvo Cars set a sixth consecutive global sales record in 2019, breaking the 700,000 cars sold mark for the first time in its 93-year history.
The company recorded sales of 705,452 cars, an increase of 9.8% compared to 2018.
The new sales record is underpinned by continued strong demand for the company’s three SUV models, as it gained market share in China, the USA and Europe.
Volvo Cars (
www.volvogroup.com) also registered strong demand for its electrified vehicles, both in terms of registered sales and retail orders.
Overall, the company sold 45,933 plug-in hybrid models in 2019, an increase of 22.9% compared to 2018 — and more than double the number in 2017.
Highlighting the strength of its portfolio and its sales performance in 2019, it surpassed the previous full-year sales record of 642,253 cars (set in 2018) nearly a full month before the end of the year — and December was
its best-ever sales month, with a 23.4% year-on-year increase to 74,239 cars sold.
In China, Volvo Cars sold 154,961 units in 2019, an increase of 18.7% compared to 2018 — comfortably out-performing the overall market.
This is an all-time record for Volvo Cars in China and the highest sales figure it has ever reached in a single market.
In the USA, Volvo Cars sold 108,234 units, breaking the 100,000 cars sold threshold for the first time since 2007. Compared to 2018, sales increased by 10.1%.
In Europe, sales were particularly strong in Germany, where the company sold more than 50,000 cars for the first time in its history; in the UK, the company achieved its best sales result since 1990.
Other markets that recorded their best-ever sales performance in Volvo Cars’ history included Australia, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Korea, Poland and Portugal.
The XC60 SUV continues to be the best-selling car for the company globally, followed by the XC40 and XC90 SUVs. This year, Volvo Cars will start to roll out its Recharge line-up in markets around the globe.
Recharge will be the ‘overarching name’ for all chargeable Volvos with a fully electric and plug-in hybrid powertrain.
The company aims for plug-in hybrid cars to make up 20% of its sales in 2020.