Swedish passenger car maker Volvo Cars increased its operating profit excluding exceptional items by eight percent year-on-year to SEK 6.8 billion (almost 600 million euros) in the first quarter, the company announced in a press release today. The company’s results were boosted by lower material costs and higher sales volumes, Reuters reported.
Record sales
Quarterly sales rose 12 percent year-on-year to 182,687 vehicles. The company achieved record sales in the first quarter in more than a dozen markets, including Germany, France, Canada and Turkey. However, its total sales fell by about two percent to SEK 93.9 billion, mainly due to lower contract manufacturing revenue.
“We expect demand for our vehicles to remain strong in the coming quarters in line with our forecast, which calls for full-year sales volume growth of at least 15 percent,” said chief executive Jim Rowan.
Investments
Volvo Cars is now majority owned by Chinese group Geely, which bought the carmaker from US-based Ford Motor in 2010. Volvo Cars listed its shares on the Stockholm stock exchange in 2021.
Last year, Volvo Cars decided to build an electric car plant in eastern Slovakia. The investment is expected to reach 1.2 billion euros. This month, Slovakia received approval from EU regulators to provide €267 million in state aid for the construction of the plant. Mass production is expected to start in 2026. The project could create up to 3,300 direct jobs as well as additional indirect jobs.
Source: ČTK
