EX30 pushes Volvo’s sales to historic high in March

Volvo Cars achieved a record-breaking sales performance last month, with figures reaching an all-time high. The surge in sales was notably propelled by the enthusiastic market reception of its new all-electric model, the EX30, and robust sales across its diversified portfolio in Europe and the United States.

The Swedish automaker disclosed an impressive tally of nearly 79,000 vehicles sold in March, marking a significant 25% uptick in a year-on-year comparison. Electric vehicles (EVs) constituted a substantial 25% of the total sales volume. Never before has Volvo sold so many cars in one month. At the Stockholm stock exchange, share value was boosted by 6.7% after the news broke.

63% all-electric

Björn Annwall, Senior Vice-President at Volvo Cars, expressed optimism regarding the future sales trajectory of its main driver, the EX30, anticipating further growth in the upcoming months. The small crossover received a model update last month, mainly focusing on trim and colors.

In the European market, Volvo’s performance was particularly striking. Sales figures soared to nearly 40,000 units last month, a 33% increase year over year. Remarkably, 63% of these sales were electric models.

Volvo Cars’ sales milestone in March, with precisely 78,970 vehicles sold, epitomizes the brand’s enduring appeal, strengthened by a product portfolio that offers the right product at the right time – rather than highlighting a decisive uptake of the demand for electric vehicles among the public.

Is there a hole in the market?

First and foremost, the crossover EX30 is a sheer volume model with a future-proof driveline, competing in a market segment where the brand was hardly present before. It’s also one of the more ‘affordable’ EVs, which is the hole in the market all car makers today are after. Volvo has a headstart thanks to its access to cheaper Chinese technology.

As Tesla’s disappointing first-quarter figures demonstrate, the global electric car market is stagnating. Significantly, the private market is sluggish. In Europe, the market share started to freeze at 12% several months ago. The UK is not different. The latest figures from March demonstrated a declining share of 15.2% (down from 16.2% YoY). However, the regional differences are vast. Over the first three months of the year, the share of BEVs in Belgium rose by 100%.

Sticking to goals

Interestingly, Volvo seems to reap the fruits of its static stance of sticking to its deadline of producing only electric models by 2030. Waiting times for its all-electric models are supercar-like. Delayed over software problems, the EX90 has a lead time of 14 months. For the small EX30, customers need to wait four months, which is also longer than usual. But this is not putting people off, as the figures show.

The Swedish car maker’s goal for 2025 is sales of 1.2 million vehicles. Last year, the company sold 708,716 units, also a milestone in the company’s history.