The year 2018 didn’t seem to be such a hot 12 months for the local automotive industry (we’ll need to wait for the official sales tallies to know for sure). Globally, however, some car manufacturers achieved record sales numbers.
Volvo, it turns out, was one of those carmakers. The Swedish brand set a new global sales record last year, breaching the 600,000 mark for the first time since the its founding in 1927. In all, the company sold 642,253 units in 2018—12.4% more than the 571,577 it sold in 2017. In December 2018 alone, it sold 60,157 units worldwide.
Volvo explains that its success is due to its renewed product lineup, namely, its SUVs. Across its core regions of the China, Europe, and the US, sales grew across the board. In the US, Volvo performed better by 20.6% compared to 2017 for a total of 98,263 units sold. In China, figures improved by 14.1% en route to a 130,593 final tally. And in Europe, the increase was a bit more incremental—6.4%, for a total of 317,838 units sold.
With sales of 189,459 units, the XC60 was Volvo’s top seller for 2018, followed by the XC90 and the V40/V40 Cross Country.
