Volvo Canada is buoyant about its brand commitment to electric vehicles and sustainability following a record month in March, a solid start overall in 2024, and the launch of new products. The company sold a record 589 EVs in March in Canada, which represented almost 50 per cent of total sales.
The company had 21.7 per cent growth over the same period in 2023. For the first quarter of 2024, the company sold 2,626 vehicles, a growth of 5 per cent. The company set an all-time Canadian record for sales in 2023 with 12,865 — a 25 per cent increase over 2022. EV sales accounted for 35 per cent of the volume, up 30 per cent from 2022.
“It wasn’t too long ago that we were selling about 4,500 cars in Canada, so we’ve seen quite a bit of growth over the recent years, which is pretty tremendous,” said Volvo Canada Managing Director Matt Girgis Wednesday night at a media gathering in Toronto.
The company is introducing new models to its lineup this year with the fully electric premium seven-seat SUV EX90 and the premium EX30, its smallest EV SUV. This adds to the C40 Recharge hatchback and SUV XC40 Recharge.
“We’re very excited about these cars,” said Girgis. “We’re going to have four fully-electric SUVs out this year that really complement our portfolio. These products are not just sentimental statements to our purpose, but bringing to life our goal to be a fully-electric company by 2030.”
He also said the company is looking at Canadian consumer trends, noting there’s a shift to online digitization, transparency, electrification, affordability and accessibility. Though industry-wide, the shift to fully embrace EVs has been slow (consumers clearly favour hybrids, and dealers say they can’t have enough of them), so Girgis is confident it will happen.
“At the same time, we know consumers resonate with sustainability,” said Girgis. “They like to be part of and resonate with brands that match up with a sustainable future. These are trends we see at the forefront.”
He said the company did a mobility report to see how consumers are feeling about these trends, specifically on the EV side.
“What we’ve seen is a couple of things, (…) there is interest in EVs,” said Girgis. “We’ve seen (that) two thirds of Canadians are looking at purchasing either a plug-in hybrid or fully electric car within the next five years, which is great. But on the other side, we’re seeing there are some concerns with electrification. It slows down a little bit, mostly when it comes to affordability — and when it comes to accessibility as well.”
He said Volvo Canada is doing a few things to address these things with a range of products that offer a powertrain for everyone.
“Our plug-in hybrids are a great solution for consumers that are not yet ready to take the full leap to electrification, but we’ve seen recently that about 50 per cent of the kilometres driven are on our plug-in hybrid vehicles or on the electric motor. That’s a lot,” said Girgis. “We’re addressing this kind of need in the marketplace with this right now.”
He said the company has partnered with the North American Charging Standard to open it up for Canadians who are “feeling a little bit nervous” about accessibility of charging infrastructure. And he noted the EX30 is a premium SUV that is affordable with an MSRP of between $53,700-$62,100.
He also said it has been almost two years since the company launched its One Price Promise on its fully electric vehicles meant to provide consumers with a negotiation-free, transparent, and online experience.
