(March 31): Volvo Car AB tapped its long-time chief executive officer Hakan Samuelsson to retake the helm, as the Swedish automaker tries to navigate its way out of a malaise worsened by looming US tariffs.

Samuelsson, 74, will replace Jim Rowan on Tuesday, April 1, and serve for two years as the board looks for a long-term successor, the company said on Sunday. Samuelsson was Volvo’s CEO for a decade until 2022.

Volvo is among European manufacturers hit by US President Donald Trump’s additional 25% auto duties. While it has a factory in South Carolina, Volvo still exports a significant share of vehicles from Europe to the US. The trade tensions and waning demand for electric vehicles (EVs) have weighed on the company’s shares, which have slumped 48% in the past year.

“With fast-moving technological shifts, growing geopolitical complexity, and intensifying competition across regions, the board believes the company is best served by leadership with deep industrial experience, deep knowledge of our group, and a proven ability to execute in challenging environments,” Volvo said.

Controlled by China’s Geely, Volvo in February warned that it will struggle this year to match its 2024 sales and profits, as weak demand and trade tensions take their toll. 

The company has been cutting costs and focusing on protecting cash as it deals with waning EV demand and the trade tensions. That’s more in line with a new strategy put forward by Geely’s billionaire owner Li Shufu, who wants to eliminate redundancies across his automaking empire that also includes brands such as Polestar, Zeekr and Lotus.

Volvo is also feeling the heat from the European Union’s higher levies on made-in-China EVs, which have hit its popular EX30. The electric sport utility vehicle is currently produced in China, but will be made at Volvo’s factory in Ghent, Belgium, starting this year to sidestep those duties.

Rowan, 59, joined Volvo in 2022 after holding jobs including the CEO post at vacuum maker Dyson Ltd. He has walked back the company’s EV ambitions, with Volvo abandoning a goal to sell only fully electric cars by the end of the decade. Instead, it will keep building hybrid models amid weaker demand from consumers for pricier battery-powered cars.

Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, and listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange, Volvo was acquired by Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd in 2010 from Ford Motor Co.

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee