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VOLVO

Volvo accused of manipulating sales figures

Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has been accused by a dealer of falsely boosting its sales figures in the US. The dealer has filed a lawsuit against the company, writes newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.

Volvo accused of manipulating sales figures
File photo: Anders Wiklund/TT
A lawsuit filed on 27th January claims Volvo forced dealers to buy a significantly higher number of cars than they were able to sell. Dealers who did not comply were hit by withdrawn bonuses and financing for marketing. The method of boosting the figures was applied across the United States, according to the lawsuit.
 
The allegations are denied by the company.
 
Volvo Cars' sales in the US increased sharply during 2015 and 2016. An increase of 8.4 per cent was posted for December 2016 in comparison with the same month in the previous year.
 
But when January's figures were published – a few days after the lawsuit was filed – sales numbers could be seen to have dropped by 18.2 per cent against January 2016. 
 
US sales in January for the XC90 model were down by as much as 34.5 per cent.
 
Volvo's global press director David Ibison told Svenska Dagbladet that there is “absolutely no connection” between the January sales slump and the recntly filed lawsuit.