Volvo Cars, the leading car manufacturer in the world whose headquarters is on Torslanda in Gothenburg, has posted an operating profit of SEK 14.2 billion for 2018. It is an increase of 0.9 per cent compared to 2017. According to the company’s press note the net revenue increased by 21 per cent to SEK 252.7 billion. Also, 2018 is the company’s best ever annual sales of 642,253 cars which is an increase of 12.4 per cent compared to 2017. But the operating profit margin for the full year was 5.6 per cent, down from 6.7 per cent last year.
The company will celebrate 100 years in 2027.
“This result is in line with our expectations, but does not totally live up to our longer-term ambitions. Revenue growth and sales in 2018 were healthy, but profitability was affected by external factors such as tariffs and increasing price competition in several markets,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President and Chief Executive of Volvo Cars, in a press release. For 2019, he sees another year of volume growth as the company continues to benefit from strong product program and increased capacity. He also cautioned, “But we have to be realistic and acknowledge that margins will remain under continued pressure.”
“Operating profit for the fourth quarter was SEK4.5 billion, an increase of 25 per cent compared to the same period last year. Net revenue in the fourth quarter increased by 20 per cent to SEK73.0 billion, as retail sales rose 7.3 per cent to 169,700 cars. The operating profit margin for the period was 6.2 per cent, up from 5.9 per cent the same period last year,” a press note of Volvo Cars said. Volvo Cars’ global sales grew by 16.7 per cent in January 2019 indicating that the company has started the year on a sound and strong note.
V60 Estate & S60 Sedan: The Company’s newest cars, the V60 Estate and the S60 Sedan contributed to the strong sales increase. “In China, sales grew by 3.6 per cent to 11,957 cars in January, compared with the same month last year, driven by demand for the locally assembled XC60 and S90 models. Sales in the US grew by 5.2 per cent to 5,854 cars in January, compared with the corresponding month in 2018. XC60 was the bestselling model in the region during the month, followed by the XC90. Volvo Cars’ European sales grew by 24.4 per cent in January to 26,195 cars, compared with the same period last year. The robust performance was on the back of high demand for the XC60, XC40 SUVs and the new V60.”
The other leading car manufacturers in the world are BMW, Audi, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Volkswagen, Honda and Hyundai. And, Tesla the electric car (not gasoline or petrol or fossil fuels) manufacturer based in the USA!
VOLVO CARs: It has been in operation since 1927 and one of the most visible, respected and trusted car brands in the world. It has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010 but formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999 when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company, USA. In 2010, Geely acquired Volvo Cars.
The company’s head office including its product development, marketing & administrative units are located in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city and the heart of Scandinavia. Its head office in China is in Shanghai and the production plants are located in Gothenburg, Skövde, Olofström (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US); Chengdu, Daqing Zhangjiakou (China). The car manufacturer sells cars through approximately 2,300 local dealers in almost 100 countries. As of December 2017, the company had around 38,000 full-time employees in the world. Its premium-segment car models are in three versions: sedans (S60, S90), versatile estates (V40, V60, V90) and SUV vehicles (XC40, XC60, XC90).
