- Volvo recorded its fifth consecutive drop in global sales in July.
- The Swedish automaker delivered fewer than 50,000 cars last month, the lowest volume so far this year.
- The maker of the EX90 electric SUV posted a $1 billion operating loss in the second quarter.
Volvo is not well. The Swedish automaker, once known for the safety and quirkiness of its boxy wagons, just posted its worst sales figures for this year. Last month, Volvo sold 49,273 cars globally, a 14% drop year-over-year and the lowest volume so far in 2025.
That marks the automaker’s fifth consecutive month in the red and the largest percentage drop year-to-date. All of this comes on top of a disastrous second quarter, during which the Chinese-owned company reported an operating loss of $1 billion.
| Month | Sales | % change compared to 2024 |
| January | 50,820 | -5% |
| February | 50,662 | 1% |
| March | 70,737 | -10% |
| April | 58,881 | -11% |
| May | 59,822 | -12% |
| June | 62,858 | -12% |
| July | 49,273 | -14% |
So, how did we get here after a record-setting 2024? In short, it boils down to tariffs and a lack of perspective. Let’s start with the latter.
Everybody knows that SUVs sell, while most sedans have been relegated to the bottom of the sales charts. It’s the same for Volvo, with the S60 and S90 being some of its worst-selling models, just ahead of the V90 wagon. Despite this, Volvo chose to use its only factory in the United States–its third-largest market–to make the S60 sedan for almost a decade before realizing that people actually want SUVs.
The addition of the flagship EX90 electric SUV to the Ridgeville factory’s assembly lines was supposed to fix the overcapacity issue, but that car costs over $80,000 and is riddled with software problems, so it did anything but sort things out.
Earlier this year, Volvo’s new CEO, Hakan Samuelsson, announced that the company would manufacture the XC60 crossover at its South Carolina facility. The XC60 is the automaker’s best seller, so it’s the obvious choice. Why Volvo didn’t choose to go down this route earlier is anyone’s guess, though. It might have something to do with its ambitious goal of going all-electric by 2030, which it abandoned last year for a more achievable target of having plug-in hybrids and EVs account for 90%-100% of sales.
The EX90 is the only Volvo SUV built at the company’s Ridgeville plant. That will change soon, with the arrival of the XC60 crossover, which people are actually buying.
Photo by: Volvo
Many automakers were hit by the harsh reality of the market and toned down their all-electric ambitions–not because people don’t buy EVs, but necessarily because the boom in sales hasn’t been as big as expected.
Tariffs also had a big impact on Volvo’s numbers. The new EX30 electric crossover, for instance, had a fantastic head start, with over 70,000 sales last year in Europe. Thanks to a well-priced package, the entry-level EV finished as the third-best-selling EV in Europe in 2024. But it was built in China, and increased import tariffs in the United States and the European Union instantly killed the car’s momentum overseas and hiked its starting price in the U.S. so high that it became an instant no-go.
The Volvo EX30 was an initial hit, but tariffs stopped the party.
Photo by: Patrick George
To get around this, Volvo started building the EX30 in Belgium earlier this year. From here, the city EV will be exported to the U.S., where it will hopefully bear a smaller price tag than the current MSRP of $46,195. For European customers, the wait times should be significantly shorter compared to Chinese-made units, and the price should also go down.
While late, things seem to be moving in the right direction. Volvo’s new CEO, who also led the company during the development of the SPA architecture that underpins nearly all gas-powered and plug-in hybrid models, is a skilled veteran in the industry and has wasted no time in making changes.
“Demand remains under pressure from the macroeconomic environment, tariff-related uncertainties and tougher competition,” Samuelsson said. “However, our turnaround actions are starting to show results.”
The company expects its turnaround plan, which includes 3,000 layoffs and an emphasis on building the right cars for the right markets, to show its full potential next year.
