Volvo Cars revenue for the first six months of 2019 amounted to a record SEK130.1 billion (US$13.94 billion), with sales totalling 340,286 units in the period, up 7.3% year-on-year. Volvo said it has gained market share across the U.S., China and Europe, with the UK and Germany recording growth of 30% and 32% respectively. According to the carmaker, the overall passenger car market in the U.S. declined 2% in the first half, while in China and Europe it fell 9.3% and 3.1%, respectively, during the same period.
“At a time when most markets in the world see stagnating car sales, we have had strong growth in the first half”, said Håkan Samuelsson, President and Chief Executive, Volvo Cars. “We continue to take market share in all regions where we operate, but increased pricing pressure and tariffs have decreased our operating profit. The cost measures we took earlier this year will come into effect in the second half of the year”, he added.
Volvo Cars has initiated additional cost measures within the Company on top of already planned measures, which combined, aim to lower fixed costs by SEK2 billion (US$214.24 million). These actions will come into effect in the second half of the year and running into the first half of 2020. For the remainder of the year, the manufacturer expects continued growth in sales and revenue, boosted by continued strong demand for the fully renewed product portfolio as well as increased production capacity.
