Volvo Cars has reported a deepening slide in global vehicle sales, with its rolling three-month June to August figures showing a 7.4% year-over-year drop to 148,239 units compared to 169,160 vehicles in the same period a year ago, the automaker announced in its Sept. 2 sales summary.
It follows a 4% YoY sales decline in the May to July period.
By powertrain, mild hybrid and non-hybrid internal combustion engine vehicles represented the biggest drop, with combined sales down 23% to 68,903 units, compared to 9,666 in the same period last year.
Volvo also cited the continuing market downturn in China because of its ongoing domestic price war and weaker demand in the U.S. for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
However, the company's electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles saw sales growth of 13% YoY and accounted for 53.5% of all cars sold during the three-month period. EVs made up 29% of all cars sold while PHEVs accounted for 24.5%.
Overall, the automotive industry continues to remain under pressure across all regions, including in the premium segment, the company said.
“Given the challenging market conditions in China and the U.S., we are prioritizing protecting transaction prices over volume growth,” said Volvo Cars’ chief commercial officer, Erik Severinson, in a statement. “In Europe, we are encouraged by the steady performance of our fully electric cars. The growth in customer orders for the EX60 continues to surpass our expectations,” he added.
