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Volvo blames EU tariffs as it lowers its 2024 sales forecast

STOCKHOLM — Volvo Cars cut its full-year retail sales forecast on Thursday, blaming European tariffs on EVs made in China that will hit one of the Swedish automaker's key electric models until it shifts production to Belgium. While reporting better than expected second-quarter results that sent its shares up 6% in morning trade, Volvo lowered its forecast for sales growth this year to 12%-15%, down from 15%. "It's really driven by tariffs," CEO Jim Rowan told Reuters. "It's a short-term issue for us, but it is an issue and we're just going to have to deal with that." Rowan said that while Volvo still hoped for 15% growth, it was now providing a range given the uncertainty. "We wanted to put a floor on that for the markets to say we're still going to grow but there are some headwinds," he said. Earlier this month, the EU announced provisional tariffs of up to 37.6% on imports of EVs made in China, saying they benefited from unfair subsidies — an allegation Beijing rejects. Volvo is majority-owned by China's Geely and faces a 19.9% tariff on its Chinese-made fully-electric EX30. Rowan said the Swedish automaker faced a "minimum of six months" of tariffs until it moves EX30 production to Belgium, which is expected to start early next year. Volvo said the main ramp-up of EX30 production at its factory in Ghent was expected during the second half of 2025. Bernstein analysts said in a note that the new sales guidance was "sensible given todayÂ’s macroeconomic situation." Major automakers have seen slowing demand for EVs, driven in part by a lack of affordable models and the slow rollout of charging points. Meanwhile, U.S. and European automakers have reported strong sales of hybrids, and are rolling out more such models to meet demand. Volvo said it saw a "modest decline" in orders for fully electric models in the second quarter, but noted "demand for hybrid cars remains very strong". "We will continue to invest in this line-up and these cars form a solid bridge for our customers not yet ready to move to full electrification," Rowan told analysts in a conference call. Volvo produced 211,900 cars in the second quarter, more than it sold amid the decline in European demand for EVs. Its operating income, which includes its stake in loss-making Polestar, rose to 8 billion crowns ($758 million) from 5 billion crowns a year earlier. That topped the 6.7 billion crowns expected by analysts, LSEG data showed.

IIHS updates overlap test: 2 SUVs get good marks, 9 fare poorly

Vehicles in crashes keep occupants safe by deforming around the cabin in a way that maintains cabin integrity. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's moderate overlap test, introduced in 1995, has been a huge contributor to improved safety for front-row passengers in a crash. IIHS President David Harkey said, "Thanks to automakers’ improvements, drivers in most vehicles are nearly 50% less likely to be killed in a frontal crash today than they were 25 years ago." In the 'unintentional side effects' column, crash safety has gotten worse for passengers in the back seats. When carmakers reengineered the front crash structure to protect the driver, more crash forces got distributed throughout the rear. IIHS research claims rear passengers have a 46% greater risk of fatal injury than front-row passengers, but back-seaters haven't benefited from the same upgrades in safety as the front row. The IIHS updated its moderate overlap test to address the issue, putting 15 vehicles through the new regime. Two earned good ratings — the 2023 Ford Escape and the 2021-2023 Volvo XC40 — one was acceptable, three were marginal and nine were rated poor. Every one of the crossovers sampled got good marks for all passengers in the original test. That test sees 40% of vehicle's width on the driver's side impacting an aluminum honeycomb barrier at 40 miles per hour. The updated test puts a crash dummy representing small woman or 12-year-old child in the seat behind the driver, the dummy's sensors and grease paint measuring the effectiveness of the restraints and the forces a human body would need to endure. To achieve a good rating, the "measurements must not exceed limits indicating excessive risk of injury to the head, neck, chest, abdomen or thigh." An institute engineer said, "In real-world crashes, chest injuries are the most common serious rear-seat injuries for adults." The sensors and video evidence showed back seat dummies in the Escape and XC40 endured minimal risk of injuries from excessive crash forces, from submarining under the seat belt, or from unwanted interaction with the side curtain airbag.   The Toyota RAV4 scored acceptable. The second-row dummy also endured minimal risk of injury to the chest and lower extremities. However, the lap belt slipped upward in a way that could increase abdominal injuries, and after the dummy's head dipped during crash impact, the head came back up between the rear curtain airbag and rear window.

Volvo will reportedly dive into the minivan segment in 2023

Volvo will expand its range by entering the minivan segment for the first time, according to a recent report. The automaker is allegedly plotting an electric people-mover that will be built and sold in China and that will share numerous parts beneath the sheetmetal with an existing model. The yet-unnamed minivan appeared on a slide shown during a presentation made by Volvo's Chinese division, according to CarNewsChina. It's one of four new models due out in 2023; the others are the EX90, the EX90 Excellence, and a small SUV that may wear the EX30 name. Volvo hasn't confirmed plans to wade into the minivan segment, let alone published details about the model, but CarNewsChina speculates that the enigmatic family-hauler will land as a brand-specific version of the Zeekr 009 (pictured). Don't worry if that doesn't ring a bell: Zeekr was founded in 2021 and it mainly sells cars in China. It's part of Geely, however, so it's one of Volvo's sister companies. Designers will give Volvo's first minivan Swedish flair inside and out in a bid to differentiate it from the 009, but the Geely-designed SEA architecture and the electric powertrain shouldn't change significantly. That means the model will land with a 544-horsepower dual-motor all-wheel-drive system. It will be fitted with a massive, 140-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack said to unlock over 500 miles of driving range. Volvo will present the van as a close-to-production concept in the third quarter of 2023, and the production model will go on sale in China before the end of the year, according to the report. It's too early to tell whether Volvo will export the van to other markets; the company hasn't commented on the rumor. Don't expect it to come cheap: Zeekr charges 499,000 yuan (around $74,000) for the entry-level 009.