The news from Volvo has been several in connection with the company's capital market day in Gothenburg on Thursday.
Among other things, it's about a scrapped revenue target, where the new target is instead to "continue to grow faster than the premium car market until 2026". At the same time, Volvo Cars is aiming for an operating margin of 7-8 percent, rather than the previous ambition of over 8 percent.
There is an enormous uncertainty today. In that situation, we should not overpromise but be clear, says Björn Annwall, vice CEO and commercial chief.
At the same time, global sales increased by 3 percent in August, mainly driven by electric cars in Europe.
"No failure"
What has received the most attention is Wednesday's news that Volvo has scrapped its goal of having a fully electrified car range by 2030. The new target is now 90-100 percent.
Leadership is about having a clear vision and adapting to the terrain when the terrain changes. Then you should say that 2030 is a figure. Our strategy is still to become fully electric, but it may take a little longer in some countries.
Volvo was early with the goal of becoming fully electric and it's a message that has been highlighted regularly since then. Is the scrapped target a failure for you?
I don't see it that way. A failure would rather be if we had stood still on exactly the same line and way of working when the world around us changes, says Björn Annwall.
"Undramatic"
On Thursday, both the Left Party and the Green Party and the Centre Party have accused the government of Volvo's setback, according to Göteborgs-Posten.
Björn Annwall points to several factors that have played in. Among other things, inflation, tariffs, state subsidies that have been removed and costs that have not been able to be reduced as planned.
There is no single thing, but everything gives a combined picture.
Volvo Cars has also announced ahead of the capital market day that it plans to expand its collaboration with the American chip manufacturer Nvidia.
