“EVERYTHING AUTO” Friday, May 19, 2017 - 15 VOLVO Cars saw a good start to the second quarter in April, reporting global retail sales growth of 10.5 per cent for the month. Volvo Cars’ three main sales regions all contributed to the double-digit growth. Total sales for the month amounted to 46,895 cars, com- pared to 42,434 cars the year before. Growth for the first four months of 2017 amounted to 8.0 per cent. Firm demand for the new 90 series cars remains an important factor in Volvo’s positive sales performance, while the original XC60 remains the best-selling model overall. The new, second-generation XC60 went into production last week and the first cars will soon reach customers. The Asia Pacific region reported sales growth of 29.5 per cent in April to 11,222 cars, on the back of an encouraging performance in China, Volvo’s largest market. Sales in the country rose 38.3 per cent to 8687 cars on robust demand for the locally produced S90, XC60 and S60L models. The Americas region returned to growth in April with a strong performance in the US market. Sales in the region amounted to 8411 cars, up 14.0 per cent from a year earlier, while the US market grew by 15.4 per cent to 7121 cars. The XC90 was the best-selling car in the market for the month, followed by the XC60. Sales in the EMEA region increased by 3.7 per cent in April to 26,996 cars, boosted by a solid performance in the western European markets. Europe’s most popular pre- mium mid-size SUV, the XC60, remained Volvo’s best-seller in the region and claimed the top position for best-selling models in Sweden in April. Globally, the Volvo XC60 was the best-selling model in April with 15,434 cars sold (2016: 11,937), followed by the Volvo V40/V40 Cross Country with 7577 cars sold (7365). MZ0846 Volvo sees global sales increase Volvo recorded a 10.5 per cent increase in global sales during April. The Volvo XC60 was the company’s best selling model in April.