- Volvo is having a tough 12 months when it comes to EV gross sales within the U.S.
- The Swedish automaker bought fewer than 500 EVs final month right here.
- 12 months-to-date, EV gross sales went down 63% in comparison with 2023.
Volvo is struggling to promote all-electric automobiles in the US. Whereas its EV sport has seen stable features in Europe, China and all over the place else, the story is totally completely different stateside. As in, it’s very dangerous. And a scarcity of recent fashions which might be powering Volvo’s electrical success elsewhere is responsible.
In November, Volvo bought simply 493 totally electrical automobiles within the U.S. No typos, you learn that appropriately. To make issues worse, that is down 41% in comparison with final November when 840 EVs had been bought stateside, however the last blow comes when evaluating year-to-date gross sales.
Within the first 11 months of 2024, Volvo bought 4,819 EVs, down a whopping 63% from final 12 months’s 12,923 items. To place issues in perspective, Honda has bought 25,000 Prologue EVs because the starting of the 12 months, and that automotive isn’t even Honda’s personal creation—as a substitute, it’s based mostly on Basic Motors’ Ultium platform and is assembled alongside different GM EVs in Mexico.
Again in October, Volvo mentioned that “the automotive market within the firm’s fundamental areas of Europe, China and the U.S. is more and more below stress which impacts demand.” However Basic Motors, Honda, Hyundai and Kia are doing fairly properly, so absolutely there have to be different components at play right here.
One cause I can consider is the present EV portfolio supplied to American clients. The EX40 and EC40 (previously referred to as the XC40 Recharge and C40 Rechage) are the one EVs on sale proper now within the U.S., they usually’re each $50,000+ automobiles. We’re typically followers of them right here at InsideEVs, however when it comes to specs they’re quite dated in comparison with extra fashionable examples.
The true drawback within the U.S. is the dearth of the entry-level EX30. That automotive ought to’ve been on sale earlier this 12 months however as a result of it is made in China, it obtained spiked by Biden administration tariffs—leaving Volvo with out this large electrical progress driver it has in Europe and different areas.
After Volvo labored out pricing, the EX30 is lastly on its option to the U.S., with deliveries set to start earlier than the 12 months ends. In Europe, it proved to be a success, however as a result of the primary model to ship to the U.S. would be the mid-tier, dual-motor, its beginning value is $46,195 (together with vacation spot).
The Volvo EX30 will arrive at U.S. dealerships by the 12 months’s finish.
That’s a reasonably penny for a automotive that’s about the identical measurement as a Hyundai Kona, so it will likely be fascinating to see if the subcompact crossover will flip the tide for Volvo stateside. Granted, the Kona would not have 422 horsepower, however in such a small automotive, that appears like overkill.
After which there’s the far more luxurious EX90 SUV. Initially positioned as an electrical successor the XC90 that helped reset Volvo for the fashionable period (which is now returning as a hybrid), American provides of the EX90 are off to a gradual begin. A search of Automobiles.com reveals fewer than 300 are on the market nationwide as of this writing and our early assessments indicated it would not really feel fairly “completed” when it comes to software program and options, so Volvo Automobiles USA will not be capable of depend on that as a growth-driver for some time.
Additionally, it’s not all dangerous information for Volvo. In Europe, gross sales of its all-electric lineup went up 50% in November and 86% year-on-year. General, together with combustion autos, world gross sales went up 5% final month and year-to-date, the Swedish automaker bought 9% extra automobiles than in 2023.
Globally, EV gross sales are additionally doing properly, with a 40% improve in November and a 59% improve year-over-year–it’s simply the US the place the model is struggling on the EV entrance.
