Volvo Australia breaks sales record already, grows EV share

Volvo Australia will deliver record sales in 2021 despite the global supply shortages.

The latest VFACTS monthly sales report for October 2021 shows that Volvo has sold almost 8000 vehicles, 7932 to be exact, year-to-date. This is up 32.3 per cent from the 5994 Volvo vehicles sold until the end of October 2020.

It’s now surpassed its 2020 and 2019 yearly sales figures even before the year is done, with 7700 and 7799 units respectively moved in those years. The latter was its former record.

The Volvo XC40 is currently the number-two-selling Small SUV in the premium market with 3498 registrations this year so far, behind the Audi Q3 but ahead of the BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA.

Meanwhile the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric is now sold out until 2022 with all of its initial allocation quickly spoken for.

“Our entire 2021 allocation of XC40 Recharge Pure Electric sold out on pre-order, and the orders for the Pure Electric are fast approaching that for our internal combustion engine cars,” said Stephen Connor, Volvo Car Australia Managing Director.

“In September our XC40 Recharge Pure Electric made up 21% of our overall sales. Our forward order book for Recharge heading into next year is very strong.”

That car has also just received a software update that sees it (along with the C40 Recharge coupe SUV and the related Polestar 2) gain more range along with a new Range Assistant app released in Beta for its Google-driven infotainment system.

The Volvo XC60 meanwhile is also third in the luxury medium SUV segment this year selling 3065 examples in 2021 to date, behind the BMW X3 and Audi Q5.

Volvo announced in September 2021 that its 2022 XC60 and XC90 Recharge models will get a new battery and a more powerful rear electric motor, which also means range has been increased.

Production of the updated XC60 and XC90 Recharge will begin later in 2021 ahead of local introduction in early 2022.

There are a lot of things in the works for Volvo in 2022 with the Australian arrival of the C40 Recharge SUV in the second half of 2022, as well as the expected reveal of the all-electric next-generation XC90.

It’s expected that the next-generation XC90 will take cues from the Volvo Recharge Concept that was revealed in July 2021.

Volvo is optimistic as it looks towards 2022 as it expects sales to continue to grow once the supply of semiconductors is freed up.

“As global supply chains recover during 2022, we are confident of our continued growth with a further high double-digit growth driven by our all-electric strategy,” said Mr Connor.

“Volvo’s consistent double-digit growth in 2021 reinforces our standing as one of the fastest growing luxury car brands in Australia.”

Other luxury brands such as Audi (11.7 per cent), BMW (10.7 per cent), Maserati (17 per cent), Mercedes-Benz (4.1 per cent), and Porsche (7.6 per cent) aren’t having the same sales growth as the Swedish/Chinese automaker.

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