Volvo Cars reports 14.2 pct global sales growth in July

STOCKHOLM, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Volvo Cars reported strong sales in July, with cars sales up 14.2 percent compared with the same period last year, the company said.

According to the company's press release on Tuesday, Volvo Cars sold 62,291 cars in July, as Europe, the U.S. and China all reported a growth in sales compared with the same period last year. Sales in Europe returned to growth in July, continuing its positive trend as restrictions put in place to curb the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted.

Volvo Cars' Recharge line-up of chargeable models, with a fully electric or plug-in hybrid powertrain, continued to be popular among customers. The share of Recharge models more than doubled in the first seven months, compared with the same period last year.

Earlier, Volvo Cars reported an operating loss of 989 million SEK (about 110 million U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And during the first six months, the company sold 269,962 cars with a revenue of 112 billion SEK, a decrease from 340,826 in the same period last year with 130 billion SEK in revenue.

The release on Tuesday showed that in the first seven months, Volvo Cars sold 332,253 cars, down 16 percent compared with the same period last year. In Europe, its sales reached 28,700 cars in July, up 12.5 percent compared with the same month last year, but declined by 24.1 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of the year. U.S. sales in July reached 9,697 cars, up 10.3 percent from the same month last year, but declined by 10.1 percent year-on-year for the first seven months.

In China, sales reached 14,410 cars, up 14.0 percent compared with July last year, but declined by 0.3 percent in the first seven months of the year, compared with the same period last year.

The company said its double-digit volume growth in July was driven by a continued strong demand for Volvo Cars' SUV range. In July, the XC40 compact SUV was the top selling model for the company, followed by the XC60 mid-size SUV and the XC90 large SUV. During the month, SUVs accounted for 72.8 percent of the company's total sales, up from 63.4 percent in same month last year.

Volvo Cars, acquired by Chinese automaker Geely in 2010, employed an average of 36,278 people globally during the first six months of 2020. (1 U.S. dollar = 8.75 SEK)