Volvo car sales in January 2022 decreased by 20.2% year-on-year due to the continued shortage of microchips in the automotive industry. According to the Swedish automaker, it managed to sell 47,561 vehicles last month, up from 59,588 in January 2021.
Volvo's sales fell the most in Europe and China (by 24.8 and 23.6 percent, respectively). US sales down 12.8%.
EVs and hybrids from the Recharge range accounted for 31.7% of all Volvo sales in January. By 2030, the company expects to abandon the production of cars on internal combustion engines.
Last year, 698,693 new Volvos were sold globally, which the company described as a "good number" given the covid restrictions and shortages in supplies. Annual growth was 5.6% compared to 2020.
The number of Volvo cars sold online increased by 316% in 2021 compared to 2020. This explosive growth was driven by growing customer demand coupled with the expansion of offerings through volvocars.com in more markets.
Volvo has been in business since 1927 and now sells cars in around 100 countries. The automaker has about 38 thousand employees. Chinese Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. bought a Swedish company in 2010.
Volvo Cars' main manufacturing plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), Chengdu and Daqing (China). Engines are produced at the plants in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China), body components - at the plant in Olofström (Sweden).
Formerly It was reported that the retail sales of the British automaker Jaguar Land Rover fell by 37.6% compared to last year also due to a shortage of microprocessors.
Chips are vital to today's vehicles, as a number of functions rely on them, including touch control, automatic emergency braking, reversing cameras, fuel-saving equipment, and airbag deployment systems.
