Reborn as an even bigger threat to German premium automakers, Volvo managed to sell more than half a million cars in 2015.

The exact number is 503,127 and it just so happens to be the first time that Volvo has sold this many cars in its 89 year history. This is also an endorsement of the company’s new product strategy, which got a huge boost in the late stages of the year from the new XC90 SUV.

However, the smaller XC60 was doing a great job in terms of sales even before that, and with strong modern products such as the S60, V60 and the V40, things are going to get even more interesting further down the road, where the S90 is expected to take on the mantle.

All three of Volvo’s core global regions reported strong sales. In Europe, the numbers rose 10.6% for the year, while representing 53.5% of the total global volume – not a surprise considering how the XC60 is the best selling car in its class in Europe.

“I am delighted to report that 2015 was a year of record sales,” said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive. “Now, with a successful 2015 behind us, Volvo is about to enter the second phase of its global transformation. Once completed, Volvo will have ceased being a minor automotive player and taken its position as a truly global premium car company. More records will tumble in coming years.”

What is the ‘second phase’ you may ask? Well, in the coming years, Volvo will continue to compete against top global premium rivals, while further developing their global manufacturing footprint. They’ll continue to grow in China and double their market share in Europe, thus increasing sales to 800,000 cars world-wide.

As the larger 90-series and 60-series models will be built on the Scalable Product Architecture, Volvo will also implement a global small car strategy with quality and technical sophistication, before building a series of four and three cylinder hybrid engines.

Soon after, the Swedish manufacturer will also develop and all-electric car for the first time – they fully expect at least 10% of their annual sales to be EVs, mid term.

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