Volvo Cars said on Tuesday its global sales fell 9% in August to 48,029 vehicles, with demand for electrified models also declining as the company begins production of its new ES90 electric sedan in Europe.
Sales of electrified cars, which include fully electric and plug-in hybrid models, made up 43% of total sales for the month but dropped 17% from a year earlier. Fully electric cars represented 20% of sales, while plug-in hybrids accounted for 23%.
The XC60 was the company’s top-selling model in August, with 17,366 units sold, up from 14,723 last year. It was followed by the XC40/EX40 at 9,404 units, down from 10,668, and the XC90 at 7,246, little changed from 7,292 a year ago.
Volvo also highlighted the start of ES90 production for European markets, describing the fully electric sedan as a key step in its transition to an all-electric lineup. The ES90 is the first Volvo to use 800-volt technology, which the automaker said will enable faster charging and longer driving range.
In China, Volvo last month launched the XC70, a plug-in hybrid crossover with an electric-only range of up to 112 miles. The model, priced from 446,900 yuan ($62,000), is initially aimed at the Chinese market but expected to reach Europe at a later stage.
