Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

VOLVO

Volvo recalls 82,000 cars over faulty diesel filters

Swedish automaker Volvo, a subsidiary of Ford Motor, said on Saturday it was recalling 82,000 cars worldwide due to a technical problem with fuel pump electronic modules.

Published: 2 February 2008 21:20 CET

The problem could arise in “the S40 model and V50 model 2004-2006”, said Volvo spokeswoman Maria Bohlin.

“There is a problem with the fuel pump electronic modules which are monitoring the fuel pump,” she said. “They can be exposed to water (from rain) and salt (on snow). There is a risk of corrosion.”

The recall was “only for corrosive markets where there are a lot of rain and a lot of salt because of snow,” she added, citing “the United States, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Canada, Netherlands, Russia, China, France, et cetera.”

In November Volvo recalled 56,000 cars due to two separate problems linked to airbags and engines.

And in December Volvo said it had recalled 125,000 trucks in North America due to the danger of short circuits in the lighting system that could cause fires, and 49,500 cars worldwide due to a technical problem with diesel filters.

Sweden's Volvo regains strength after pandemic puts brakes on earnings

Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt. Photo: Adam Ihse/TT

In 2020, the group saw “dramatic fluctuations in demand” due to the Covid-19 pandemic, chief executive Martin Lundstedt said in a statement.

For 2021, Volvo raised its sales forecasts in its trucks division – its core business – in Europe, North America and Brazil.

However, it said it also expected “production disturbances and increased costs” due to a “strained” supply chain, noting a global shortage of semiconductors across industries.

The truck making sector is particularly sensitive to the global economic situation and is usually hard hit during crises.

In March, as the pandemic took hold around the world, Volvo suspended operations at most of its sites in 18 countries and halted production at Renault Trucks, which it owns, in Belgium and France.

Operations gradually resumed mid-year, but not enough to compensate for the drop in earnings.

With annual sales down 22 percent to 338 billion kronor (33.4 billion euros, $40 billion), the group posted a 46 percent plunge in net profit to 19.3 billion kronor (1.9 billion euros).

Operating margin fell from 11.5 to 8.1 percent.

However, the group did manage to cut costs by 20 percent.

“We have significantly improved our volume and cost flexibility, which were crucial factors behind our earnings resilience in 2020,” the group said.

Volvo's business regained strength in the second half of the year.

“Customer usage of trucks and machines increased when the Covid-19 restrictions were eased during the summer and this development continued during both the third and fourth quarters,” it said.

“Both the transport activity and the construction business are back at levels on par with the prior year in most markets.”

For the fourth quarter alone, the company reported a 38-percent rise in net profit from a year earlier.

Url copied to clipboard!