- Volvo's overall sales were down 2% in August, but electrified model sales were up a whopping 47%.
- The company offers an EV or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant of every vehicle it sells.
- Electrified vehicles now account for 37.7% of the company's overall sales, with the long-awaited EX90 electric flagship about to arrive in showrooms.
There's been plenty of ink spilled over the EV slowdown. But at Volvo, internal-combustion products dragged down sales in August. Sales of electrified models—which include hybrids and EVs—were up significantly. This follows a pattern we've seen at Honda, Hyundai, and Kia this month: Hybrids and EVs are posting strong gains.
Volvo reported monthly U.S. sales of 10,420 units, down 2.1% compared to August 2023. But while overall sales tapered, electrified sales skyrocketed. Volvo delivered 47.1% more hybrids and EVs last month compared to last August. That's stunning growth in any segment for a mature car company. Hybrids and EVs now account for 37.7% of Volvo's overall sales in the U.S. The company did not break out individual model lines in its brief sales report.
Note, too, that the all-electric EX90 hasn't even hit showrooms yet. That's Volvo's first product built from the ground up to be an EV, and it competes in the hot luxury three-row segment. That segment has long been the money-maker for Volvo. It was early to establish a foothold with the XC90, and the second-generation XC90 launch was used as an opportunity to relaunch the brand, introducing styling and interior design themes that rippled across the brand. Nearly nine years later, the same XC90 is still Volvo's top seller, with 2,979 sales last month.
The EX90 was initially supposed to replace the XC90 outright. However, slower-than-expected EV sales growth and the EX90's teething issues helped stamp out that plan. Volvo just announced that the XC90 is getting another facelift, bringing the hybrid and internal-combustion three-row closer in line with its all-new electric stablemate. How well that plan works depends on consumer reactions to the EX90 and their interest in an XC90 with relatively dated underpinnings. Based on my first drive of the EX90, it's a potentially stellar product, held back by a variety of bugs and unfinished features.
Still, Volvo deserves credit for its commitment to both plug-in hybrids (PHEVS) and EVs. Every Volvo model on sale offers a PHEV or EV variant, and in the three-row segment, the brand now offers both PHEVs and EVs. Electric alternatives to the S90 and XC60 are on the way, too, to complement the PHEV versions available today. The company says five total EVs built on that ES90, EX90, and EX60 platform are planned, so more announcements are coming.
In the meantime, though, Volvo has to keep consumers interested in its current-generation products. That's proving possible thanks to its great hybrid options. But the damned internal-combustion cars are lagging behind.
