The brand said the US was its strongest overall market last year with 61,233 cars sold although there was a 20.5% decrease ‘due to extraordinary one-time effects in December 2012’. The Volvo S60 and XC60 were the two best sellers, with the brand adding that the introduction of the new Drive-E engine family and the launch of the Volvo V60 are expected to bolster its position in the US market in 2014.

Sales in China accelerated throughout the year and set a new all-time high record in December with 6,685 cars sold, contributing to total sales for 2013 of 61,146 cars, just a few cars less than the United States. The best-selling model in China was the Volvo XC60, which also set a new record for an individual month in December with 3,242 cars sold.

Volvo Cars strengthened its position as market leader in Sweden with a 20% market share and four models on the top-ten list of best-selling car models. Sweden was Volvo Cars’ third-largest market in 2013 with 52,260 sold cars, with the Volvo V70 and V60 the two best-selling models.

European sales in December were boosted by the V40 and V60 models, with growth particularly from the Netherlands, UK and Norway. Volvo Cars Netherlands reported an outstanding market share of 5.86% making Volvo the largest premium brand in the country and the Volvo V40 one of the best-selling cars on the market. For the full year sales were flat in Europe, with the Volvo V40 being the best-selling Volvo model in the region. The Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid was Europe’s best-selling diesel plug-in hybrid with 7,378 sold cars for the full year.

Japan also made an important contribution to Volvo Cars’ positive full-year result. Retail sales in Japan grew by 22% to 16,897 cars in 2013, with the Volvo V40 and V60 models the best-selling models.

‘After six consecutive months of growing sales we can report a great full-year performance exceeding last year’s results,’ said Alain Visser, senior vice president marketing, sales and customer service at Volvo Cars. ‘Our China team has delivered fantastic growth and we will continue to expand our presence there. We have new products reaching US showrooms soon and in Europe we have a very attractive product offer which will be further developed in 2014.’