Volvo’s downward trajectory continues as the company reported a 10 percent drop in global sales for March, another grim milestone in an industry battered by economic uncertainty and shifting consumer preferences. The decline, which saw 70,737 cars sold, was driven in part by a 26 percent collapse in battery-electric vehicle sales, a sector Volvo had once positioned as central to its future.

Electric cars accounted for just 19 percent of total sales, while the broader category of electrified vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, saw a 9 percent decline, making up 43 percent of overall volume.

The erosion was not contained to a single market. In Europe, sales fell 9 percent. In the United States, where tariffs and protectionist policies have further destabilized the industry, sales were down 8 percent. But the most brutal contraction came in China, where Volvo’s numbers plummeted 22 percent, a sharp blow for the automaker, which is majority-owned by China’s Geely.

Amid this turmoil, the company’s leadership has been reshuffled in a desperate bid for stability. On March 30, Volvo announced the return of former CEO Håkan Samuelsson, who will lead the company for the next two years. His appointment comes at a moment of crisis, replacing Jim Rowan, whose tenure since 2022 has been marked by sliding sales and rising external pressures.

The move underscores the deepening unease within Volvo’s boardroom, as the company struggles to navigate an increasingly hostile economic and geopolitical landscape.

For now, the XC60 SUV remains Volvo’s top-selling model, a relic of an era before the industry’s headlong rush into electrification—a transition that, for Volvo, is proving to be more precarious than promised.