Volvo Cars January sales tumble as chip shortage lingers

The logo of Volvo is seen on the front grill of a Volvo XC40 SUV displayed at a Volvo showroom in Mexico City, Mexico April 6, 2018. REUTERS/Gustavo Graf

STOCKHOLM, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Volvo Car Group’s (VOLCARb.ST) sales fell 20.2% in January under pressure from the global component shortage, though demand for its products remained strong, the automaker said on Wednesday.

Volvo, which has been heavily impacted by sector-wide supply-chain constraints and semiconductor shortages, warned last year that the chip shortage would continue into 2022. read more

The Sweden-based company said that while production had continued to improve gradually, retail deliveries were held back “due to an increase of cars in transit”.

“The supply situation continues to ease, but component shortages will remain a constraining factor for Volvo Cars and the auto industry,” Volvo said in a statement.

Global sales at the car manufacturer fell to 47,561 cars in January, with sales in Europe dropping 24.8% while they fell 12.8% in the United States.

Volvo, which is majority owned by China’s Geely Holding (GEELY.UL), listed on Nasdaq Stockholm in October after wrapping up Europe’s biggest initial public offering of the year. read more

It is due to post fourth-quarter results on Feb. 11.

Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; Editing by Johan Ahlander and Niklas Pollard

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