China-owned Volvo Cars reports record sales for 2019

China-owned Volvo Cars on Thursday said the company sold more than 700,000 cars in 2019, a record, but the full year net profit dipped.
Net income for the full year was 9.6 billion kronor, (or 1 billion dollars), down almost 2 per cent compared to 2018.
Revenue rose 8.5 per cent to 274 billion kronor. The carmaker said it sold 705,452 cars in 2019, its sixth consecutive year of record sales.
Top selling models were SUVs, including the XC60 and XC40 series.
In China, the world’s largest car market, it sold almost 155,000 cars, up by almost one fifth on 2018, and the highest it has recorded in a single market.
Regarding the coronavirus outbreak in China, Volvo said it expected “operations will be impacted,” referring to its production and supply chain.
In the U.S, Volvo’s second largest market, sales in 2019 increased 10 per cent year-on-year to about 108,000 cars.
The company’s Chief Executive, Hakan Samuelsson, said the profits were supported by growth in sales as well as cost-saving measures that were introduced in early 2019.
He promised that 2020 would be the year of electrification.
The company also reported growth in most European markets, including Germany and Britain. An exception was Sweden where sales fell by four cent to about 64,000 cars.
China-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group took over ownership of the Swedish carmaker in 2010 from U.S. automotive giant Ford.(dpa/NAN)
YI/ABI