Europe Drives Volvo's 6% Global Sales Rise in July

Volvo Cars reports its global car sales rose 6% in July compared with the same month last year, mainly driven by strong sales of its electric vehicle products in Europe.

However, the pro-EV spin on the figures continues because the automaker lumps plug-in hybrids in with its battery-electric vehicles in this claim, with the pair recording a combined 49% growth rate.

Splitting the two shows BEVs comprised 25% of all vehicles sold while PHEVs amounted to 24% of the overall sales for the month.

Sales for the period of January through July totaled 445,520 cars globally, an increase of 13% year-on-year.

In Europe, sales reached 28,390 cars in July, up 40% compared to the same period last year. Sales of Volvo Cars' electrified models increased 64% compared to prior year and the share of electrified models accounted for 65% of all cars sold in Europe during July.

This was offset by sales in the U.S. which fell 11% in July, totaling 9,597 cars. However, sales of PHEV models increased 73% compared to the same period of 2023.

Volvo Cars' sales in China reached 9,775 cars, down 31% compared to July 2023. Sales of Volvo’s BEV and PHEV electrified models stood at 1,130 units, down 3% from a year earlier.

The Volvo XC60, sold with gasoline, diesel or PHEV powertrain options, was the top-selling model in July with sales of 15,577 cars, followed by the XC40/EX40, with total sales of 13,818 cars and the EX30 at 9,201 cars.