Q2 sales slip for Volvo CE, but China begins to recover

A line of Volvo Construction Equipment machines. (Image: Volvo CE)

The company said the dip was driven by a downturn in the industry after last year’s surprisingly robust machine sales figures.

“Compared to the historically high levels of 2023, there has been an overall market decline, particularly in Europe, where weakening business confidence has had an effect, and also in North America largely due to a normalisation in the replenishment of dealer fleets and lower end-customer demand,” said Volvo CE.

For the second quarter, Volvo CE sales fell 16% to SEK 24.4 billion (US$2.3 billion) from SEK 29 billion ($2.7 billion) in 2023. Net sales of machines dropped 19% and service sales increased 2%, adjusted for currency movements.

The OEM said net order intake globally increased 9% largely on increased purchases from China. The company said a slowdown in sales in China in 2023 informed the action so far this year.

“China also showed good signs of recovery from last year, supported by recently announced government policies to stimulate the real estate market,” said Volvo CE.

Volvo CE said order intake was healthy in North America, as well, citing improved supply chain in 2024 as reasoning. With quarterly sales more than $1.3 billion aggregated between North America and Europe, these two regions make up just less than 60% of Volvo CE’s net sales.

Volvo CE Q2 sales numbers and outlook

Sales in Europe fell 20% in the second quarter of this year compared to last. In North America, there was a 14% drop, an 11% decrease in Asia, and sales in Africa and Oceania dipped 26%.

Sales in South America saw the most nominal decrease at 7%, driven largely by continued strong demand in Brazil and Peru.

Looking ahead, the company is preparing to introduce a fleet of electric machines as part of its “transformation journey.”

Melker Jernberg, President of Volvo CE, commented, “We continue to drive innovation and investments to remain at the forefront of the transformation to more sustainable solutions for the benefit of our customers, shareholders and society at large.”