Volvo Cars reports 30% sales drop in September as chip crisis weighs

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Geely-owned Volvo Car Group's monthly sales fell 30.2% from a year ago in September, dented by the global component shortage, the Sweden-based automaker said on Monday.

The company warned last month that sales volumes in the second half of 2021 could fall year-on-year after production cuts due to material shortages.

"The decline was related to a shortage of components. This affected production although it picked up again late in the month," Volvo Cars said in a statement, adding demand for its products remained strong.

Global sales at the firm, which is considering listing on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange this year, fell to 47,223 cars in September, with sales in Europe dropping 41.5% while they fell 9% in the United States.

A global chip shortage over the past year has caused a major delay in manufacturing activity and forced several automakers to scale back output.

Sources told Reuters last month that China's Geely Holding was in advanced discussions with banks to list Volvo Cars in the coming weeks, aiming for a valuation of about $20 billion.

(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm, editing by Supantha Mukherjee and Niklas Pollard)