Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) saw its Q4 2021 sales increase year-on-year by 5% to SEK 21,812mn (€2.084bn) (SEK 20,810mn - €1.988bn in Q4 2020).
All Volvo CE regions outside China saw an improvement across sales and deliveries for the final quarter of 2021 – supported by a rise in sales of services and compact electric machines across many key markets.
Despite the continued decline in China, Volvo CE sustained its solid growth with high infrastructure investment, particularly across Europe, North America and South America, and increased revenue from services. Volvo CE says the current drop in China is due to a saturated market for excavators following last year’s high sales levels and the overall slowdown in construction and infrastructure investments across the region.
For full-year 2021, Volvo CE sales amounted to SEK 92,031mn (€8.794bn) – rising from SEK 81,453mn (€7.783bn) from last year, demonstrating that the global market is continuing to spring back from the initial hit caused by the disruptions of 2020.
The final months of 2021 saw the first shipment of the 20-ton EC230 Electric excavator for the Asian market from the factory in South Korea, setting another milestone for Volvo CE’s electric future. Sales of the company’s compact electric machines, the ECR25 Electric excavator and the L25 Electric wheel loader, continued across key markets, with Volvo CE delivering 321 of these machines in the last year. The reveal of a new concept autonomous electric wheel loader, Volvo LX03, also showcased the company’s direction towards decarbonisation.
“The industry continues to be confronted by the effects of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in combination with additional challenges such as transport disruptions, global component shortages and an overwhelmed supply chain,” says Melker Jernberg, president of Volvo CE.
“Yet thanks to the dedicated work of my colleagues, partners and suppliers, we have continued to deliver good profitability and took several important steps forward in our efforts to lead the transition to the carbon-neutral construction industry. The greater flexibility, digitalisation and innovation across our products and services – not forgetting the stringent targets we have set ourselves in building a better world – have contributed towards a solid performance for 2021.”
