STOCKHOLM, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Volvo Cars reported a 29.1 percent growth for the first two months of the year, compared with the same period last year, the company said on Thursday.
According to a press release from the company, total sales during the first two months amounted to 110,383 cars as U.S., Europe and China reported a growth in volumes. The sales increase was driven by an ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in China, a solid performance in the U.S. market and increased sales in Sweden.
In China, Volvo Cars sold 29,243 cars in the first two months, up 160.6 percent year-on-year, as the company managed to more than recover lost sales due to COVID-19 shutdowns last year, the company said.
U.S. sales continued to grow year-on-year and reached 17,315 cars in January and February, up 23.7 percent compared with the same period last year. The strong increase was led by the brand's premium SUVs which accounted for 80 percent of total sales.
The company's European sales grew 5.5 percent in the first two months of 2021 to 48,784 cars, compared to the same period last year, driven mainly by increased sales in Sweden.
In February, the XC40 was the top selling model with sales of 15,818 cars, followed by the XC60 with total sales of 14,463 cars and the Volvo XC90 with 6,808 cars.
Volvo Cars announced on Tuesday that the company aimed to go fully electric by 2030, and all models will only be available online.
Volvo Cars, acquired by Chinese automaker Geely in 2010, employed approximately 40,000 full-time employees globally in 2020.
Headquartered in the major Swedish city of Gothenburg, Volvo Cars has main car production plants in Gothenburg, Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (the U.S.), Chengdu and Daqing (China), while engines are manufactured in Skovde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofstrom (Sweden). Enditem