KUALA LUMPUR: Volvo Car Malaysia ended the 2023 calendar year with a higher sales mix of its fully electric (BEV) segment, making up 18% of total retail sales and representing an increase of 37% compared to 2022.
Of the total, the company’s Recharge range which includes BEVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) made up 71% of total retail sales for the year.
Volvo Car Malaysia’s Recharge sales mix places it among the top 15 global markets in the Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars), where the global average sales mix for Recharge variants stood at 38% for 2023.
Volvo Car Malaysia sold 2,694 cars in 2023 compared to 3,194 in 2022, which was a bumper year for the automotive industry following a full lifting of the Covid-19 pandemic’s social distancing and operating restrictions, coupled with numerous government incentives to kickstart the local economy.
Volvo Car Malaysia managing director Charles Frump said 2023 was a transformative year for the company as it pivoted towards a fully electric future.
“All of our fully electric models are now sold directly on our online sales platform for a secure, transparent and hassle-free ownership journey.
“Despite showing a slight sales drop, we’re very proud to have defended our segment share given that we were in between product cycles with no new launches last year.
“After seven consecutive years of growth prior to 2023, we expect continued growth in 2024 with new, fully electric product launches on the horizon.
“We remain steadfast and aligned with our ambition to become a fully electric, premium car company by 2030 and see this reflected in our direction and performance as a global brand,” Frump added.
2023 also saw the opening of the largest Volvo Certified Damage Repair centre by iRoll in Juru, Penang in April and the launch of the biggest Volvo 3S showroom by Sisma Auto in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur in November.
Moving forward, Frump welcomed the government's move in extending EV adoption incentives such as the exemption on excise duty, sales tax, and import tax exemption for locally assembled (CKD) EVs components until 2027, the exemption of import and excise duty for fully imported (CBU) EVs until 2025, and a full tax exemption for EV charging equipment manufacturers until 2032.
Globally, Volvo Cars set a new sales record with 708,716 cars sold in 2023, an increase of 15% compared to 2022.
The all-time-high is a demonstration of Volvo Cars’ strong electrified product portfolio in combination with a more stabilised supply chain.
Volvo Cars also saw a significant increase in sales for its electrified cars.
Last year, Volvo Cars sold 113,419 fully electric cars, an increase of 70% compared to 2022, and 152,561 plug-in hybrid cars, which was a 10% increase compared to 2022.
Sales of fully electric cars accounted for 16% of all Volvo cars sold globally during 2023.
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