Volvo Cars reports a strong January performance with a 30.2% growth

Starting 2021 on a strong note, Volvo Cars reported the best January in its history, as Europe, China and the U.S.A all reported increasing sales. Global sales rose by 30.2% to 59,588 cars, boosted by a strong year-on-year performance in China where the company more than recovered losses from earlier COVID-19 shutdowns.

Demand for Volvo Cars' SUV lineup remained strong and represented 71% of overall volumes, while the popularity of its Recharge lineup of chargeable cars continued to grow. The volume of Recharge models more than doubled in January year-on-year, now accounting for 23% of all Volvo cars sold globally.

In China, sales grew by 91.3% to 19,160 cars in January, as Volvo's biggest market more than recovered from a pandemic-related sales drop in the first month of last year. The sales increase in China was helped by strong overall market demand, but also boosted by a sales ramp-up of the XC40 and S60.

American sales reached 8,151 cars in January, an increase of 32.4% compared with the same period last year. The company's SUV lineup, led by the XC90, drove the strong sales increase.

European sales for the month increased by 9.0% to 24,857 cars sold, helped by strong performances in key markets such as Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. Recharge cars amounted to 41% of total European sales. In January 2021, the XC40 was the top-selling model, with 17,770 cars sold, followed by the XC60 with 17,053 cars and the XC90 with sales of 7,564 cars.