Marko Hanželic
Volvo is the latest automaker to announce good results in the field of hybrid vehicles, while the demand for electric vehicles in the US is decreasing in the first quarter of 2024. The Swedish brand has started positive, as its annual sales increased by 17 percent, and the reason for this is hybrids.
More specifically, Volvo plug-in hybrids were a hot commodity until the end of March. During this period, sales of these models increased by 44 percent and amounted to 7.118 units. Mild hybrids increased by 5 percent and z 8.088 vehicles leaders in total sales. Sales of electric vehicles, however, fell. Only 2024 fully electric Volvos were sold in the first three months of 970, compared to 2.782 last year; the drop is 65%.
Volvo's entire U.S. lineup is to some extent electrified, and most are available as plug-in hybrids. Only the XC40 and V90 Cross Country don't have the option of plug-in power, but Volvo has it available for all-electric models EX30, XC40 Recharge, C40 Recharge and a flagship SUV EX90. Among all models, the XC90 achieved the highest sales, with 4.048 units sold in March alone.
While not the first automaker to report strong hybrid sales this year, Volvo's first-quarter report may the clearest view to current trends among buyers in USA. Toyota reported strong sales of the Prius, while Ford announced its record hybrid sales, led by the Maverick hybrid, which was up 77 percent. To be fair, Ford also reported an 86% increase in electric vehicle sales with 20.223 vehicles sold. However, large inventories of electric vehicles prompted Ford to cut production Mach-E and Lightning and offered more attractive incentives, so it will be interesting to see how electric vehicle sales in the second quarter of the blue oval fare.
Hyundai could be an exception. The South Korean brand recorded an impressive growth in sales of electric vehicles in the first quarter of this year. ionic 5 has proven to be a hot seller, but it's worth noting that the Tucson in hybrid and plug-in hybrid trim achieved sales records. Also hyundai palisade set a sales record with 25.255 units sold, far more than all of Hyundai's electric vehicle sales combined.
It should also be noted that it appears that v Evropi otherwise. Demand for electric vehicles may not be declining as much, as evidenced by Volvo's first-quarter sales of 31.237 electric cars. That's up 48 percent from 2023, surpassing plug-in hybrid sales, which actually fell 2 percent over that period.
