Automotive News Europe — 2023-02-09
Automotive Industry
Volvo Cars said on Thursday 9 February that 2023 is likely to be another challenging year despite strong demand for its vehicles as the Swedish automaker reported a fall in quarterly profit.
Volvo, which is majority-owned by Chinese automotive company Geely Holding, said its fourth-quarter operating profit dropped to 3.4bn crowns ($322.2m) from 3.7bn crowns in 2022.
"While 2023 looks to be another challenging year, we are hopeful that the COVID-related supply shortages from China are behind us and that we continue to see steady improvement in the supply of semiconductors," it said in a statement.
"Despite the global turbulence, uncertainty and our recent price increases, we continue to see healthy demand for our cars," Volvo said, adding it expects a "solid" double-digit growth in retail sales during 2023.
Volvo's full-year sales fell 12% to 615,121 in 2022.
Volvo and its rivals have faced lingering chip shortages over the past year that have periodically hit manufacturing, with the Sweden-based company forced at times to halt production at some factories temporarily.
Other supply chain issues, the energy crisis and rising inflation have also made the road more troublesome for the company.
The company once again proposed not paying out a dividend.