Volvo is in SA to stay and is committed to electrified cars, says new MD

Volvo SA cut the number of its dealers from 19 to seven earlier this year, leaving the Swedish car brand represented only in the main centres of Gauteng, Durban and Cape Town.

Volvo, like other premium brands, has seen its local sales decline as consumers shift to more affordable vehicles and dwindling dealer profitability made the reduced footprint necessary. 

However, the brand is committed to SA and plans to reopen a few dealers and launch new models, according to Volvo SA MD Grant Locke.

The South African, formerly Volvo’s global head of financial services in Sweden, took the reins of the local operation in July. He spoke to Business Day at the media launch of the new EX30 Cross Country model last week.

He said rebuilding customer trust in Volvo was his priority, and key elements were a strong brand presence and after-sales support.

“We needed to rightsize the network after reviewing dealer profitability, but we will grow our presence outside of the main centres by opening a dealer in Gqeberha. It will be a service site with the ability to conduct sales, and we are planning to open sites in Mbombela and Bloemfontein as well,” he said.

Globally, Volvo aims to become a fully electric brand, and has bolstered its model range with electric vehicles (EVs) and petrol-electric hybrids in recent years, with no purely internal combustion engined (ICE) cars remaining in the lineup.

In SA, the Swedish brand’s battery-electric vehicle (BEV) lineup comprises the EX30, EX30 Cross Country, XC40 Recharge, C40 Recharge and EX90.

In a premium segment experiencing an upheaval — brands such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are well down on their strong-selling heydays despite their ICE-heavy lineups — Volvo’s aggressive electrification strategy may seem to be a difficult challenge in a country where EV adoption has been very slow.

Last year there were 1,257 EVs sold in SA, just 0.24% of the market, as consumers continue to be turned off by their high prices, long charging times and a limited charging network.

However, Volvo has done relatively well with its new EX30 electric crossover that was launched in SA in February 2024. It was the brand’s best-selling model last year and the country’s most popular EV, at 406 units, nearly double that of its closest competitor, the BMW iX3’s 221 sales.

Volvo SA sold 1,299 new cars in 2023 when its range was primarily made up of ICE models, led by the XC40 mild hybrid that sold 675 units with an average of 108 a month.

In 2024 the brand grew to 1,431 sales, averaging 119 units a month, with the EX30 its most popular model ahead of the XC40.

But in 2025 Volvo’s local sales have dipped to an average of 75 units a month, and the company has had a challenging time globally with an operating loss and sales falling 9% in the first six months.

Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars, said demand remained under pressure from the macroeconomic environment, tariff-related uncertainties and tougher competition. 

Locally, Locke said the brand has a way to go to recover sales numbers.

To incentivise customer adoption of its BEVs, Volvo offers new owners two years of free public charging, a GridCars home wallbox and 10GB of Vodacom data per month for three years. The wallbox enables faster charging compared to a standard plug, and the 24-month ownership package provides owners with a R12,000 charging voucher linked to a GridCars charge card.

Locke intends to further bolster Volvo’s local presence with the launch of new models. Following the introduction of the EX90 in March and last week’s launch of the EX30 Cross Country, other new Volvos on the horizon are the ES90 luxury electric sedan, arriving in the first quarter of 2026, and the electric EX60 midsize SUV in 2026 or 2027.

The new EX30 Cross Country, as the name suggests, is an adventure-focused vehicle with a higher ground clearance than the EX30 and a more off-road design. Locke believes owning such a vehicle is becoming more feasible as the DC fast-charging network grows in SA.

He said Volvo was committed to its electrification strategy, with hybrids as the holding vehicles until the brand completes its move to EVs.

Volvo had planned to have a fully electric range globally by 2030, but due to the slowdown in global EV growth it has revised this to having 90% of its range electrified (either full electrics or plug-in hybrids) by that date, with the other 10% made up of mild hybrids.