The key facts

  • Volvo Cars' third-quarter revenue amounted to SEK 66.9 billion, down almost 23% year on year; the net loss was SEK 5.7 billion, against a profit of SEK 4.5 billion a year earlier.
  • The new SEK 5 billion cost-saving programme involves cutting about 2,000 jobs in Sweden and 500 outside it; the full effect is expected by the end of 2027.
  • The company's shares fell by more than 25% on the Stockholm stock exchange; revenue in China dropped by almost 50% year on year.

Loss and new cost-saving programme

Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars, whose controlling stake belongs to China's Geely group, said on Friday it would cut about 2,500 jobs worldwide after US tariffs and fierce competition from local brands in China pushed the company into a loss for the third quarter. Revenue amounted to SEK 66.9 billion (about €6 billion), almost 23% less than a year earlier. The net loss reached SEK 5.7 billion (€513 million), compared with a net profit of SEK 4.5 billion (€405 million) in the same period last year. In response, the company announced an additional cost-saving programme of SEK 5 billion (€450 million) on top of previously launched cost-cutting measures. According to the company, the new steps will lead to the elimination of about 2,000 jobs in Sweden and another 500 outside it — through ending the use of consultants, natural staff attrition and targeted compensation packages for departing employees. The full financial effect of the measures is expected by the end of 2027.

Market reaction and management comments

After the results were published, Volvo Cars shares on the Stockholm stock exchange fell sharply: around 08:00 GMT they were down almost 30%, and around 10:00 GMT the decline exceeded 25%. Chief Executive Håkan Samuelsson said the company continues to operate 'in extremely challenging conditions', facing 'deglobalisation, hypercompetition and climate change'. According to him, the company is convinced of the correctness of its long-term strategy, but in the short term, 'against the backdrop of a serious drop in volumes', it needs to strengthen its business turnaround plan with additional decisive steps, lower its break-even point and improve cash flows to increase resilience. Samuelsson called the third quarter 'very disappointing' and noted that the company is experiencing particular difficulties in the US and Chinese markets.

China, the US and electric vehicles

In China, according to Samuelsson, the market for 'traditional premium brands is in serious decline due to intense competition from new Chinese alternatives', which 'effectively eliminates the profitability' of such brands. This led to a drop in the company's revenue in China of almost 50% compared with a year earlier. In the US, the carmaker suffered from 'the continued negative impact of tariffs', as well as from the cancellation under President Donald Trump's administration of consumer incentives for fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, which hit the company's margins. In 2024, Volvo Cars abandoned its plan to switch entirely to selling only electric vehicles by 2030.

Previous cuts and an analyst's view

Volvo Cars, like other European carmakers, is struggling in global markets: last year the company announced a SEK 18 billion (€1.62 billion) cost-cutting programme that envisaged about 3,000 job cuts worldwide. In May 2025, the company announced the elimination of 3,000 jobs, and two years earlier — the abolition of 1,300 positions in Sweden. According to company figures given in a letter to AFP, the company currently employs about 39,300 people worldwide, including 19,500 in Sweden. Handelsbanken analyst Hampus Engellau told AFP that, in addition to difficult markets, Volvo Cars is suffering from problems of 'its own making': the company has failed to ramp up production and sales of its new EX60 electric vehicle. The model is a success in Europe — more than 50,000 orders — but the company is struggling to scale up production according to plan.

Leadership change

In September, Volvo Cars announced that Samuelsson would step down at the end of his contract, and that Škoda Auto CEO Klaus Zellmer would become his successor — no later than October next year. According to Euronews, the change must take place no later than 1 October 2027.