Volvo Cars scraps sales target as EV demand faces slowdown

STORY: Volvo slashed its margin and revenue ambitions for the second time in a year on Thursday (September 5).

It comes a day after the Swedish carmaker, which is majority-owned by China's Geely, gave up on its electric vehicle-only target due to the impact of tariffs and lower demand for EVs.

EU, U.S. and Canadian tariffs on electric cars made in China have made market conditions increasingly difficult for automakers.

Overall demand for EVs has also slowed partly because of a lack of affordable models.

Volvo Cars lowered its target for operating profit margin excluding joint ventures and associates to 7-8% from above 8%.

It also scrapped a sales goal of up to $58.4 billion, instead saying it expected to outgrow the premium car market.

Volvo walked back margin and revenue goals on another occasion earlier this year.

In January, it gave up a target for annual sales of 1.2 million cars annually by mid-decade, which was first announced three years ago.

Shares in Volvo Cars were up 3% early Thursday, having fallen sharply the previous day on news of the abandoned EV target.