The European automotive market witnessed an unprecedented shift in May 2024 as Swedish luxury car brand Volvo emerged as a leading performer, driven by the strong sales of its EX30 e-SUV. While overall sales of cars in Europe slipped 2.7 per cent in May, Volvo’s car sales jumped 27 per cent year-over-year to settle at 32,826 units. With the remarkable growth, the Swedish manufacturer improved its position from 17th in May 2023 to 14th in the same month this year.

The impressive growth enjoyed by Volvo last month was mainly due to the relatively affordable all-electric EX30 SUV, which attracted more than 11,000 buyers last month.

The surge in sales of the Chinese-made Volvo EX30 e-SUV is obviously not something that the EU authorities would like. As Chinese automakers grew their combined market share from 2.3 per cent in May 2023 to 2.5 per cent in the same month of this year, European policymakers decided to impose higher tariffs on imports on electric cars from China. Starting in 2025, Volvo will produce the EX30 e-SUV in Europe to avoid being penalized by higher tariffs. The shift in the EX30’s production from China to Europe will potentially also pave way for the local production of the EX90 e-SUV.

Meanwhile, a number of European and American EV makers continued to struggle. American electric car pioneer Tesla continued to face considerable challenges in Europe. It suffered a steep decline in sales in the recent past, which prompted it to contemplate an increase in idle days at its Giga Berlin factory. According to available data, Tesla's EV sales declined 37 per cent year-over-year to settle at 17,953 units last month. That was enough to push Tesla down from the 16th spot to 20th spot in the rankings of car brands in Europe.

Volkswagen, Europe’s leading car brand, enjoyed a growth of 2.9 per cent in car sales to more than 117,000 units, but Japanese automaker Toyota attracted focus as its sales jumped 7.2 per cent to 70,205 units, partially due to strong sales (47 per cent) of the RAV4.

As the European automotive landscape is undergoing a significant shift, brands like Volvo are enjoying remarkable gains. The success of the Volvo EX30 e-SUV underscores the increasing popularity of Chinese-made EVs in Europe. In fact, the EU recently announced hefty tariffs on Chinese EVs to protect local EV makers.