Pandemic hits Volvo Cars hard

China-owned Volvo Cars reported a net loss for the first half-year period and said car sales plunged by one fifth in the period that was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The net loss was 1.1 billion kronor (123 million dollars), compared to a net profit of 3.4 billion kronor a year ago, the company said on Tuesday.

Revenue fell by 14% year-on-year to 111 billion kronor.

The company said it sold 269,962 cars in the January-June period, compared to the 340,826 cars it sold in the same period last year.

The carmaker however expected sales to rebound and had gained market shares in China, the United States and Europe.

"We expect to see a strong recovery in the second half of the year," chief executive Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement.

Demand was expected to increase for its plug-in cars.

The largest markets

In China, the world's largest car market, it sold about 65,700 cars during the six-month period, down by 3% compared to 2019 amid higher demand at the end of the period.

In the US, Volvo's second largest market, sales dropped by over 13% year-on-year to about 43,200 cars.

The company also reported a fall in sales in Europe.

During the pandemic, Volvo Cars has temporarily closed manufacturing plants and introduced reductions in working hours with the support of government programmes.

China-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group took over ownership of the Swedish carmaker in 2010 from US automotive giant Ford.