Volvo Cars reports 18.2% global sales decline in Q1

Volvo Cars reported on Thursday its first quarter global sales down by 18.2 percent due to coronavirus pandemic.

Volvo Cars said in a press release on Thursday that the company sold 131,889 cars in the first quarter of 2020, down 18.2 percent compared with the same period last year. The company's global sales performance was affected by the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

In March, Volvo Cars global sales reached 46,395 cars, down 31.2 percent compared with the same period last year, led by weakening demand in Europe and the U.S. Meanwhile, China is showing signs of recovery, as showroom traffic continues to improve, the company said.

During the January to March quarter, the XC60 was the top selling model for the company, followed by the XC40 and the XC90. SUVs accounted for 67.9 percent of the company's total sales in the period, up from 60.3 percent in the first quarter last year.

China sales during the quarter reached 20,780 cars, down 30.5 percent as compared with the same period last year, primarily due to the lower sales performance in January and February. In March, showroom traffic in the region started to pick up pace. Earlier this month Volvo Cars also reopened its four manufacturing plants in China after an extended closure period due to the spread of the coronavirus.

U.S. sales in the January-to-March period stood at 19,485 cars, down 11.7 percent, compared with the same period last year. A majority of states in the country have now implemented stay-at-home orders which have led to a significant drop in showroom traffic in March that affected the first quarter volumes.

Volvo Cars' sales in Europe reached 70,510 cars in the first three months of the year, down 18.5 percent as compared with the same period last year. The sales performance was significantly impacted in March due to restricted movement in several key markets including Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Belgium among others.