Sweden: Volvo Group reports 4% global sales decline for first eight months

Wednesday, September 26, 2007,

Tags: Nissan Motor Company, Sales Data, Volvo.

AutomotiveWorld.com

Volvo Group has reported a year-on-year global sales decline of 4% for the year to the end of August, to 135,781 units.

The total includes deliveries from Mack, Renault Trucks and Volvo Trucks as well as deliveries from Nissan Diesel for the period from 1 April to 31 August 2007, the latter since it was consolidated into Volvo Group on 1 April 2007.

Excluding Nissan Diesel, total deliveries for Volvo Group amounted to 119,109 units, a fall of 16% year-on-year. Nissan Diesel reported 16,672 deliveries from 1 April to 31 August.

Total global sales, including those for the Japanese OEM, were affected by drops of 59% in North America and 4% in Western Europe. Sales in eastern Europe, on the other hand, surged 54% year-on-year, while deliveries rose by 158% in Asia and 21% in South America.

The US-based Mack division saw a year-on-year decline of 54% during the first eight months of 2007, selling 11,541 units, mainly due to the effects of pre-buying in 2006, weakness in freight orders and the downturn in the housing construction market.

"Mack deliveries also remain impacted by production disruptions associated with the transition to the 2007 US model year products and internal industrial optimisation," the OEM claims.

Sales of Mack trucks in North America were down by 61%, while sales in South America fell 3% year-on-year. However, sales in Asia rose significantly, by 104% year-on-year.

Renault Trucks also reported lower sales in the 1 January-31 August period, down by 7% year-on-year to 47,758 units, mainly due to the non-availability of Euro 4-compliant versions of the Renault Mascott until June 2007. Excluding this model, deliveries from Renault Trucks rose by 6%.

Renault Trucks' sales fell in Western Europe (by 9%), North America (by 38%), South America (by 16%) and Asia (by 7%) during the period, while in eastern Europe they were up by 14% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Volvo Trucks' global deliveries fell by 9% during the first eight months, to 59,810 units. The OEM fully attributes the decline to its sales 62% fall in North America, compared with the preceding year prior to implementation of new exhaust emission standards.

The demand for Volvo Trucks remained strong in other parts of the world, the company notes. Deliveries rose 86% in eastern Europe, 26% in South America, 20% in Asia and 4% in Western Europe.

Published on Wednesday, September 26, 2007