Volvo’s Electric Car Sales Drop by 32 Percent

Electric cars were supposed to be the future. For a while, many carmakers raced to invest in the shift.

Volvo was one of them. But now, that strategy seems to be hitting a wall.

The company is facing a big drop in demand. Especially for its newest electric models, according to Boosted.

In April 2024, Volvo sold 11,697 electric cars. That’s down from 17,090 in the same month last year. A 32 percent drop.

Models like the EX30 and EX90 were expected to help sales. They didn’t.

Plug-in hybrid cars didn’t help much either. Sales there only rose by 2 percent.

Other hybrids and traditional petrol or diesel models also slipped. That category fell by 5 percent, reaching 34,315 units sold.

If you combine all of Volvo’s electrified vehicles—both hybrids and full electric—the total sales dropped by 16 percent in April.

That brings Volvo’s total car sales for the month to 65,838. That’s 11 percent less than last April.

These numbers aren’t just bad for one month. They’ve pulled down Volvo’s performance for the entire year so far.

From January to April, electric car sales are down 7 percent. For the first quarter alone, the drop was 6 percent.

Volvo’s flagship model, the EX90, has also had a rough start. Reports say the car had so many issues during its launch in the U.S. that Volvo had to use computers just to get the cars running during the event.

Things could get worse. The U.S. has added import taxes on cars.

Volvo’s Chinese ownership may also become a bigger problem. That could lead to restrictions or bans in key markets.

To steady the ship, Volvo brought back former CEO Hakan Samuelsson. He returned on April 1 on a two-year deal. The company is still looking for a permanent leader.

Volvo has also walked back its earlier promise to go fully electric by 2030. Other carmakers seem to be doing the same.

Some even want the EU to delay its 2035 ban on new combustion-engine cars.