It reported a net loss of 2.92 billion kronor ($429 million) for July to September, down from profits of two million kronor in the corresponding period last year.

“There are some positive signs indicating that the decline in demand has bottomed out and that we are now beginning a gradual recovery,” particularly in Asia, the company’s chief executive Leif Johansson said in a statement.

The result was better than expected, after analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a net loss of 3.3 billion kronor. Net sales were 48.5 billion kroner, slightly less than expected.

The group also “significantly reduced” its operating loss — a measure of profits before tax and interest — to 3.3 billion kronor from 6.8 billion in the second quarter, it said, “as a result of cost cutting measures.”

Volvo Group — which makes trucks, buses and boat engines but does not include the Volvo Cars brand — posted its biggest-ever quarterly net loss, 5.57 billion kronor, in April to June this year.

The economic crisis has sharply reduced auto demand, prompting massive job cuts and losses by some of the biggest companies in the sector.