European May registrations: Volvo Cars is fastest growing European premium brand, growing faster than the overall market

European May registrations:

Volvo Cars is fastest growing European premium brand, growing faster than the overall market

The positive momentum of Volvo Cars’ growing sales in Europe continued in May and Volvo Cars continues to grow faster than its main premium competitors in Europe. The latest report from ACEA* shows that while the overall European market was up by 4.3 per cent, Volvo Cars grew by 14.1 per cent, making it the fastest growing European premium brand.

Volvo Cars strengthened its position as market leader in Sweden, while the UK, the Netherlands and Spain also supported growth for Volvo Cars. As a result, Volvo Cars is ahead of the market development for the first five months of the year as well, with registrations growing by 9.6 per cent versus 6.6 per cent for the whole market.

The total number of Volvo registrations in Europe amounted to 21,854 cars in May (2013: 19,154) and for the period January-May 101,903 Volvos were registered (92,962).

A strong product offer including an entirely new engine family is boosting demand for Volvo Cars in European dealerships. The Volvo XC60 crossover is the main growth driver while the XC70 crossover, the V40 hatchback and the V60 sportswagon models are also boosting customer demand. The positive developments are expected to continue as the new Drive-E engine family, offering class leading performance and fuel economy, is rolled out into more car lines.

*European Automobile Manufacturers' Association

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Volvo Car Group in 2013

For the 2013 financial year, Volvo Car Group recorded an operating profit of 1,919 MSEK (66 MSEK in 2012). Revenue over the period amounted to 122,245 MSEK (124,547 MSEK), while net income amounted to 960 MSEK (-542 MSEK). Global retail sales for the year amounted to 427,840 (421,951) cars, an increase of 1.4 per cent compared to 2012. The operating profit was the result of cost control and strong sales and was further tangible proof of Volvo Car Group’s progress in implementing its transformation plan. For the full year 2014, the company expects to stay in black figures and predicts to record a global sales increase of a good 5 per cent.

About Volvo Car Group

Volvo has been in operation since 1927. Today, Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales of 427,000 in 2013 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010. It formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company of the US. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely Holding.

As of December 2013, Volvo Cars had over 23,000 employees worldwide. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company’s main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium) and Chengdu (China), while engines are manufactured in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China).