Volvo achieves new global sales record in 2023

Swedish carmaker Volvo officially set a new global sales record for 2023 after 708,716 of its cars were delivered to customers.

The new record sees a 15 per cent increase in sales compared to 2022, and it’s all thanks to the popularity of its electrified and crossover models, in addition to a more stable supply chain.

Volvo sold a total of 113,419 fully electric cars last year, 70 per cent more than it did in 2022, while plug-in hybrids made up 152,561 sales.

The brand’s most popular model for 2023 was the XC60 crossover which accounted for 228,646 sales, followed by the compact XC40 with 200,670 units sold, and the XC90 at 107,549.

It comes as no surprise that Europe was Volvo’s top market for 2023 with 294,794 vehicles being sold there. This was followed by China where the carmaker sold 170,091 cars last year, then the United States with 128,701 sales, and finally 115,130 in all other markets.

Looking ahead, China appears to be a focus area for Volvo considering that’s where it just launched its first-ever people mover, the EM90. And that’s the only market where the model will be sold, at least for the time being, which is a decision no doubt made by the carmaker’s Chinese owner Geely.

Several new Volvo EVs are set to launch globally in 2024, including the pint-sized EX30 and the larger EX90, the latter of which is more like a computer on wheels than anything else. Kiwis can look forward to seeing both models hit our roads later this year.