Volvo Cars reported a decline in global electrified vehicle sales in January-December 2025, reflecting softer demand in key markets, despite growth in fully electric models in several regions.
Globally, Volvo Cars sold 323,294 electrified cars in 2025, down 8 percent from 352,787 units in 2024. Fully electric car sales fell 13 percent year on year to 151,830 units, while plug-in hybrid volumes declined 3 percent to 171,464 units. Electrified models accounted for a significant share of total sales, but overall volumes were affected by market-specific challenges and a sharper drop in plug-in hybrid demand in some regions.
Europe
Europe remained Volvo’s largest electrified market, with 207,705 electrified cars sold in 2025, down 14 percent year on year. Fully electric sales declined 22 percent to 103,608 units, while plug-in hybrid sales slipped 3 percent to 104,097 units. The slowdown highlights weaker overall market conditions and increased competition in the European EV segment.
China
China was a bright spot for electrified growth, driven almost entirely by plug-in hybrids. Electrified sales rose 71 percent to 26,966 units in 2025. Plug-in hybrid volumes more than doubled to 24,624 units, while fully electric sales dropped 46 percent to 2,342 units. This shift indicates strong consumer preference for plug-in hybrids over fully electric vehicles in the Chinese market.
United States
In the US, electrified sales fell 23 percent to 33,087 units. Plug-in hybrid sales declined sharply by 40 percent to 22,379 units. In contrast, fully electric sales grew strongly, up 91 percent year on year to 10,708 units, partly offsetting the broader decline but not enough to prevent an overall drop in electrified volumes.
Other markets
In markets outside Europe, China, and the US, Volvo achieved modest growth in electrified sales. Volumes increased 3 percent to 55,536 units in 2025. Fully electric sales rose 9 percent to 35,172 units, while plug-in hybrid sales decreased 5 percent to 20,364 units.
Overall trend
For 2025, Volvo’s electrified car performance shows a mixed picture. Fully electric models gained momentum in the US and other markets, while plug-in hybrids performed strongly in China. However, declines in Europe and weaker global plug-in hybrid demand weighed on overall electrified sales, resulting in a year-on-year decrease for the full January-December period.
Total sales
Volvo Cars reported global sales of 75,049 vehicles in December, up 2 percent year on year, supported by stronger demand for fully electric and plug-in hybrid models across key regions. For the full year 2025, global sales declined 7 percent to 710,042 cars, reflecting a challenging automotive market environment.
China emerged as Volvo’s largest market in 2025, followed by the US, the UK, Germany, and Sweden. Management highlighted improving momentum in electrified vehicles, with growing deliveries of fully electric models such as the EX90 and EX30, and strong demand for the XC70 long range plug-in hybrid in China.
In Europe, December sales reached 33,406 cars, broadly flat year on year. Fully electric car sales rose 33 percent during the month, while overall electrified sales increased 2 percent. Electrified models accounted for 65 percent of European sales in December. For the full year, however, total sales in Europe fell 10 percent to 332,667 cars.
In the US, December sales increased 1 percent to 14,193 cars. Electrified model sales dropped sharply by 48 percent, largely due to the removal of subsidies for fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Full-year US sales declined 3 percent to 121,607 cars.
China recorded December sales of 16,103 cars, up 1 percent year on year. Electrified model sales surged 128 percent, driven by a 213 percent increase in plug-in hybrid sales. Despite this growth, full-year sales in China fell 4 percent to 149,549 cars.
By model, the XC60 remained Volvo’s best-selling vehicle in 2025 with sales of 230,655 cars, followed by the XC40 and EX40 range with 166,920 units, and the XC90 with 103,217 units.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
