Volvo Cars reported 76,015 global car sales in December, which is 4.6% more than a year ago. During the full year of 2023, the company sold 708,716 cars (up 15% year-over-year).
Unfortunately, for Volvo, December brought a noticeable decrease in its plug-in electric car sales for the second consecutive month. That’s mostly because of the high base of November and December 2022, which the company wasn’t able to match this year.
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Volvo achieved a record year
In 2023, Volvo sold globally more than 265,000 plug-in electric cars (up 30% year-over-year), which represents almost 38% of the brand’s total volume. All-electric car sales increased even more, by 70% year-over-year to over 113,000.
Last month, Volvo plug-in electric car sales amounted to 28,461 (down 11% year-over-year). Both, all-electric and plug-in hybrid car sales were down.
One of the most interesting things in December’s stats is 606 sales of the all-new Volvo EX30, which entered the market in November. We will carefully watch how many units the Chinese plant can produce before the model enters production also in Europe in 2025.
Volvo Recharge sales last month (YOY change):
- BEVs: 12,270 (down 16%) and 16.1% share
- PHEVs: 16,191 (down 6%) and 21.3% share
- Total Recharge: 28,461 (down 11%) and 37.4% share
During the fourth quarter of 2023, Volvo sold globally 72,752 plug-in electric cars, which means that the entire quarter was weaker than a year ago—by 5.2%.
In 2023, Volvo plug-in car sales exceeded 265,000 cars (up 30% year-over-year), which is also 37.5% of the total volume.
Volvo Recharge sales in 2023 (YOY change):
- BEVs: 113,419 (up 70%) and 16% share
- PHEVs: 152,561 (up 10%) and 21.5% share
- Total Recharge: 265,980 (up 30%) and 37.5% share
For reference, in 2022, Volvo sold over 205,000 plug-in electric cars (about 33% of the total volume).
The year 2023 was a record one for Volvo, but the slower Q4 might be concerning:
The main focus for now is on all-electric cars—new models and higher volume, as the brand hopes to become 100% all-electric one by 2030.
Geographically, as usual, most Volvo plug-in cars were sold in Europe—18,933 in December (down 17% year-over-year), representing almost 55% of the total volume (172,575 units and 59% share in 2023).
In the United States, plug-in car sales in December increased by less than 1% year-over-year to 3,232. In 2023, Volvo sold 35,657 plug-ins in the U.S. (up 28% year-over-year).
In China, Volvo plug-in electric car sales also decreased in December, by 11% year-over-year to 1,715 units and 10.8% share. The full year was positive with 15,356 sales (up 26% year-over-year).
In terms of models, the Volvo XC40 Recharge with 7,812 sales in December and 75,666 in 2023 remains the best-selling all-electric Volvo. The Volvo C40 Recharge noted 3,852 last month and 37,114 in 2023.
Besides the Volvo EX30 mentioned previously, the all-electric lineup soon will also include the all-new Volvo EX90, while the Volvo EM90 is already in the pipeline.
Volvo Cars detailed sales results:
