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Volvo Cars brought back the former boss Håkan Samuelsson to provide the South Axed manufacturer on the Geely a “stable hand” necessary to sail in geopolitical turbulence and cut competition.
Samuelsson, who was 74 years old this month, was managing director of the group for a decade until 2022. The company’s share price fell 66% in the last three years under Jim Rowan when he was fighting against the slower than expected change in electric vehicles.
“The automotive industry is under pressure from many directions,” Samuelssson said on Sunday, which will start a two -year term. “I am honored to come back at such a decisive moment for Volvo cars.”
Rowan’s abrupt resignation came after recently warned of the drop in profitability and a “very difficult year” to come for the company, partly because of the uncertainty caused by the trade policies of US President Donald Trump. Rowan could not be joined immediately to comment.
“The industry is probably under the highest pressure ever.
Analysts said the automaker would be hard by a 25% rate that the United States planned to impose on imports of foreign cars from April 2, as it relies on European exports for sales to the United States.
According to the level of prices, Volvo Cars said it wanted to increase production in South Carolina. But that may not completely protect it from prices because even locally produced cars use a large amount of non -American content. The company is also exposed to a public ban on Chinese software in electric vehicles in the United States.
To meet the highest prices of the EU on electric vehicle imports made in China, Volvo cars will also produce its ex30 EV model in its Ghent factory in Belgium, as well as in China from this year.
The founder of Geely, Eric Li, who is chairman of the Board of Directors of Volvo Car, cited the “industrial depth” of Samuelssson and the “proven direction” as a reason to bring him back.
“While industry between an even more complex phase, we think that its experience and regular hand are exactly what is necessary to strengthen the global position of Volvo Cars,” added Li.
A person familiar with the thought of the council said that Volvo cars should be prepared for a “much more difficult future” which would require a reduction in costs and Samuelssson to try to unlock more advantages of Chinese property, including access to cheaper suppliers.
A person close to the company said Geely had been frustrated by the evaluation of Volvo because, even from his first public public call in Stockholm in 2021, which Samuelssson supervised.
In addition to their regular assessment, the person said that Samuelsson was also popular with automotive employees and dealers.
Last year, the Swedish car manufacturer abandoned the intention of only selling electric cars by the end of the decade.
Volvo cars will also be affected by the relaxation of EU emission targets, as it could lose part of the income he has gained by selling credits to competitors who were lagging behind by reducing carbon emissions.
