Volvo Cars to launch 13 new models this decade, eyes earnings boost

By Marie Mannes

STOCKHOLM, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Volvo Cars plans to launch 13 new models between now and 2030 as it seeks to broaden its range and double its market ​share, the Sweden-based automaker said ahead of an investor day ‌in Stockholm on Thursday.

Under CEO Hakan Samuelsson, Volvo has streamlined its lineup and placed greater emphasis on regionalisation, shifting towards more region-specific offerings and less customisation.

Volvo plans six new models for the Chinese market and seven for Western markets, comprising ‌fully ​electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids as it aims ⁠to boost its margin for ⁠earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to more than 8% from 3.5% in 2025.

The Western-market vehicles will be built on Volvo’s SPA2 and SPA3 platforms, while the China-focused models will be developed with ​sister company Geely Auto.

Volvo Cars has struggled to meet previous profitability targets amid tariffs, weaker EV demand and high development costs, ⁠and the company did not specify when ⁠it might reach its new profit margin goal.

The ​company in 2021 said it aimed to reach an EBIT margin of ​between 8% and 10% by mid-decade, but later lowered its ‌ambition before withdrawing its financial guidance altogether in 2025.

In April last year, Samuelsson said the era of being a global company was over and launched a dedicated plan for autonomous operations in China and ⁠the United States.

“People have different tastes and preferences in the region, so I think you need to accept that,” he said at the time.

At ⁠the same time, ‌Samuelsson also launched an 18 billion Swedish crown ($1.83 ⁠billion) cost and cash action plan that included closer ​cooperation ‌with majority owner Geely Holding.

On Thursday, Volvo Cars ​said deeper ⁠cooperation with Geely on hardware sourcing in Europe and China would increase parts commonality to 30% from about 10% now, contributing roughly 5% of material cost savings by 2030, in addition to indirect savings it also planned.

($1 = 9.8398 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Marie Mannes, editing by Terje Solsvik ​and Tomasz Janowski)