Volvo Cars AB, a leading luxury automobile maker, saw its shares rise approximately 4% in morning trade in Sweden on Thursday. This surge followed the company's announcement of a significant increase in vehicle sales throughout March and the first quarter.
In March, Volvo sold 78,970 cars globally, a 25% increase compared to the previous year's figure of 63,132 cars. This sales figure set a new record for the highest global sales in a single month.
The EX30, Volvo's new fully electric SUV, along with solid sales performances in Europe and the United States, largely drove this growth. The firm's range of electrified models increased by 24%, selling 33,558 cars in total, and accounting for 42% of global sales.
Sales of fully electric cars shot up by 43%, while Plug-in hybrid sales rose by 8%. Fully electric vehicles constituted 23% of all cars sold in March.
European sales grew 33% to 39,756 cars in March, while in the United States, Volvo car sales saw a boost of 50%, reaching 15,315 vehicles. However, sales of fully electric cars dipped by 66%.
In China, although there was a 28% slide in electrified vehicle sales, Volvo still managed to sell 14,005 cars in March, marking a 21% increase.
The Volvo XC60 continued to be its top-selling model in March 2024 with sales soaring to 22,402 cars.
In the first quarter of 2024, Volvo sold a total of 182,687 cars globally, a 12% rise from 162,938 cars during the same period a year earlier.
Sales of electrified models in the first quarter went up by 11% to 74,995 vehicles. Fully electric sales saw a surge of 27%, although Plug-in hybrid sales slightly decreased by 1%.
European car sales in the quarter increased by 23%, with sales in China and the United States growing by 4% and 17%, respectively.
"These numbers reflect the strength of our strategy and product diversity - offering fully electric cars alongside plug-in hybrids and mild hybrids in the right mix. We are making good progress towards our annual sales target of at least 15% growth and in the months ahead we will focus on ramping up sales of our EX30," Volvo's Chief Commercial Officer & Deputy CEO, Bjorn Annwall, said.
In Stockholm, Volvo Car shares were trading at 40.53 Swedish kronor, marking an increase of 3.98%.
