Volvo More Than Doubled All-Electric Car Sales In March 2023

Last month, BEVs were responsible for a fifth of the total volume.

Volvo Recharge

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Apr 5, 2023 at 11:21am ET

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Volvo Cars report 63,132 global car sales in March, which is 7.6 percent more than a year ago. In the first quarter of 2023, sales amounted to 162,938 (up 10 percent year-over-year).

However, the most interesting things are happening in the plug-in segment. Last month, Volvo sold 26,983 plug-ins, which is the second best result ever and a 29 percent increase year-over-year. Not only that, the Volvo Recharge share increased to 42.7 percent of the total volume.

This outstanding growth is the direct result of booming all-electric car sales. In March, 12,621 new battery-electric vehicle (BEV) cars were sold (up 140 percent year-over-year), which is 20 percent of the total volume. In other words, every fifth new Volvo was all-electric.

On the contrary, plug-in hybrids noted a nearly 8 percent decrease year-over-year to 14,362. It seems that soon BEVs will sell better than PHEVs.

Volvo Recharge result:

BEVs: 12,621 (up 140%) and 20.0% share
PHEVs: 14,362 (down 8%) and 22.7% share
Total: 26,983 (up 29%) and 42.7% share

Volvo Recharge sales - March 2023

In Q1 2023, Volvo plug-in car sales exceeded 67,000 (up 35 percent year-over-year), which is also more than 41 percent of the total volume.

Volvo Recharge sales year-to-date:

BEVs: 30,069 (up 156%) and 18.5% share
PHEVs: 37,334 (down 2%) and 22.9% share
Total: 67,403 (up 35%) and 41.4% share

For reference, in 2022, Volvo sold over 205,000 plug-in electric cars (compared to almost 190,000 in 2021), which was a third of the total volume.

This year, Volvo Recharge car sales might exceed 250,000 or maybe even reach 300,000, if the growth accelerates to 50 percent.

Geographically, as usual, most Volvo plug-in cars were sold in Europe - 18,537 in March (up 30 percent year-over-year). In the US, in March, sales increased by 20 percent year-over-year to 2,905. Meanwhile, plug-in electric car sales in China increased by 10 percent to 1,442.

In terms of models, Volvo's lineup includes two all-electric models, the Volvo C40 Recharge and the Volvo XC40 Recharge. In March, the company sold 9,016 electric XC40s and 3,605 C40s.

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Volvo is expected to continue the expansion of its plug-in car sales, especially all-electric ones. The next big thing will be the Volvo EX90 large SUV with a 111-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery. For those who prefer smaller cars, the company hints at a smaller crossover EX30.

Volvo Cars detailed sales results: