Volvo has no intention whatsoever to sacrifice its EV profits just because someone else did it first, Reuters learned from Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan. Getting entangled in a price slashing war with Tesla could prove detrimental for all parties involved.
He pointed out that battery-powered Volvos have been in high demand lately, leaving the company with a large backorder to process and no incentive whatsoever to stimulate more purchases.
The last year saw Volvo triple its plug-in hybrid sales and raise the share of BEVs in the overall sales structure to a record-high 20%. This was made possible despite the fact that the sales numbers fell 12% compared to the preceding year. The Swedish manufacturer stated that the year 2023 also had all the makings of a challenging year, with the Covid-induced logistics troubles still being a major factor, especially in China.
In earlier news, Volkswagen joined the chorus of voices speaking against industrywide EV price reductions. According to current VW Group CEO Oliver Blume, doing so might disrupt customer trust.
Tesla Inc. was the one to start slashing prices last year, netting itself a massive increase in sales. Some other automakers, like Ford and Lucid, followed its example.
