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

STOCKHOLM, Sept 17 — 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 taxes (EBIT) to more ‌than 8% from 3.5% ‌in 2025.

The carmaker's shares were up 3% in early trade.

The Western-market vehicles will ⁠be built on Volvo's SPA2 and SPA3 platforms, which Volvo ⁠said were expected to reduce investment costs, 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.

Analysts at Citi said in a note to ‌clients that they believed the market would discount the likelihood of ​a doubling of market share given the intense competition, while they would also watch how sensitive Volvo's margin targets were to any shortfall in sales volumes.

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 several times 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 crowns ($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)

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