By Marie Mannes
STOCKHOLM, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Volvo Cars said on Thursday it will launch 13 new models between now and 2030 to double its market share as the Sweden-based automaker grapples with the fallout of U.S. tariffs and slumping sales in China.
The company's shares rose almost 2% following the announcement.
Owned by China's Geely Holding, Volvo faces an increasingly delicate balancing act under CEO Hakan Samuelsson of separating its Western and Chinese technologies in order to continue selling
in the U.S., where its sister brand Polestar faces a sales ban.
Volvo plans six new models for China, the world's largest car market, and seven for Western markets, with a mix of electric vehicles and hybrids as it aims to lift its pre-tax margin to more than 8% from 3.5% in 2025.
The models for Western markets will share two Volvo platforms to reduce investment costs, while the models for China will be jointly developed with sister company Geely Auto.
Volvo's supply chain chief Francesca Gamboni told analysts and investors that it will develop large models for U.S. car buyers, small to medium models for Europe and mid-sized models for China.
She said the company is also willing to make cars for other automakers at two factories located in Chengdu, China and Ghent, Belgium and talk to rivals about possible partnerships.
Volvo Cars has struggled to meet previous profitability targets due to tariffs, weaker EV demand and high development costs.
It did not specify when it might reach its new profit margin goal.
Analysts at Citi said in a note that investors would discount the likelihood of Volvo doubling its market share given intense competition, adding they would closely watch how sensitive Volvo's margin targets were to any shortfall in sales volumes.
NO FACTORY CLOSURES
Volvo's product offensive comes as slumping sales in China and growing global competition from Chinese rivals force cuts at major automakers.
Volkswagen's supervisory board has approved a turnaround plan that includes sweeping job cuts and likely plant closures. Nissan is cutting capacity and reducing future model plans, while Jaguar Land Rover is slashing jobs.
Volvo's Chief Strategy & Product Officer Michael Fleiss said, unlike its rivals, Volvo has no plans to close any of its factories.
On Thursday, Volvo Cars said deeper cooperation with Geely on hardware sourcing in Europe and China would increase parts sharing to 30% from about 10% now, contributing material cost savings of roughly 5% by 2030.
($1 = 9.8398 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Marie Mannes, additional reporting by Nick Carey, editing by Terje Solsvik, Tomasz Janowski and Joe Bavier)
