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Volvo’s EV Crash Hits Harder Than Expected As Buyers Walk Away From Batteries
- Volvo had a bad start to 2025, with sales dropping 7 percent Jan-April.
- EV sales were hit hardest, falling an alarming 32 percent in April.
- Volvo recently abandoned a commitment to go EV-only by 2030.
Last September, Volvo rowed back from its previous pledge to go all-electric by 2030, and now, eight months later, that looks like a very smart move. The Geely-owned automaker just announced its latest sales figures, and they show registrations of fully electric Volvo vehicles fell by almost one-third.
Volvo’s EV sales fell 32 percent in April versus the same period last year. The company sold 17,090 EVs in April 2024, compared to the 11,697 EVs sold in the month just gone. PHEV sales actually grew fractionally (by 2 percent) to 14,688, but MHEV and ICE registrations also dropped 5 percent to 34,315.
Related: Trump’s Tariffs Drive Volvo To Build A New Model In The US
That means Volvo’s combined electric sales were down 16 percent, and total sales for all power types for April stood at 65,838, or 11 percent lower than they were for the corresponding period last year. And April’s terrible performance really dragged down the overall Q1 EV sales figures, which showed a 6 percent sales decline and are down 7 percent Jan-April.
The lacklustre demand for EVs comes despite the EX30 being rolled out to the US and sales of the big EX90 also now having begun. But Volvo is one of the automakers affected by President Trump’s tariffs, albeit not as badly affected as Audi or Porsche. Although it does build the EX90 at its South Carolina plant in the US, other models like the XC90, XC60, XC40, and EX30 are all made overseas and subject to import levies.
Volvo sales April 2025
| Apr-25 | Apr-24 | Change | Jan-Apr 25 | Jan-Apr 24 | Change | |
| Electrified models | 26,385 | 31,523 | -16% | 100,868 | 106,518 | -5% |
| – Fully electric | 11,697 | 17,090 | -32% | 44,146 | 55,261 | -20% |
| – Plug-in hybrid | 14,688 | 14,433 | 2% | 56,722 | 51,257 | 11% |
| Mild hybrids/ICE | 32,496 | 34,315 | -5% | 130,232 | 142,007 | -8% |
| Total | 58,881 | 65,838 | -11% | 231,100 | 248,525 | -7% |
Volvo is looking to address that issue and is planning to build a second model – probably the XC60 or XC90 – at the same site. Volvo recently dropped the S90 from the US market due to tariffs, though the newly facelifted sedan will still be offered in Asia.
The man tasked with managing the turnaround is Hakan Samuelsson, who returned to the CEO role on April 1 on a two-year contract while the company looks for a permanent new boss. He replaces Jim Rowan, who took over from Samulesson in 2022 but was shown the door this spring after three years in the big chair.
