Volvo 1Q NAFTA Sales Up 19%

AB Volvo— whose holdings include Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks, and Renault Trucks— has quadrupled its 1Q net earnings of 2.25 billion SEK ($291 million), from 1Q 2003’s 506 million SEK ($65.6 million). Among the bright spots, the report says “demand increased considerably in North America.”

Truck sales in North America, Volvo’s second-largest market behind Europe, climbed 19% to 7.22 billion SEK ($936 million), while European sales climbed 10% to 19.0 billion SEK ($2.46 billion). Truck sales in its smaller markets are booming, with a 53% increase in Asia to 2.40 billion SEK ($311 million), and a 78% leap in South America to 1.1 billion SEK ($144 million).

Truck deliveries in North America jumped 51% to 9,772 units for the quarter, while in Europe the increase was 4% to 24,742 units.

In North America, there was a 42% jump in deliveries at Mack Trucks to 4,861 units, while Volvo Trucks soared 62% to 4,856 units.

Volvo upped North American delivery projections to between 230,000 and 240,000 trucks in 2004. North American construction equipment sales increased 48% to 1.62 billion SEK ($210 million), while Volvo’s largest market, Europe, showed a more modest 10% increase in construction sales to 2.85 billion SEK ($370 million).