Reportedly due to a mounting trade war, Volvo has stopped importing the S90, which has been manufactured in China since 2018
According to a report from Automotive News, Volvo Car USA will cease importing the S90 sedan due to the increasing trade tensions between the United States and China.
The S90, manufactured at Volvo’s assembly plant in Daqing, China, was already experiencing low sales volumes in the US market before the implementation of tariffs. Last year, the company sold only 1,364 units in the United States.
An unnamed source familiar with the matter told Automotive News that the S90 is a “low-volume car for the US,” and that rather than navigating the complexities of the tariffs, Volvo has decided to discontinue its import.
Requests for confirmation and information regarding the S90’s availability in other markets have been made to Volvo.
As of April 9th, the Trump administration has imposed a 125-percent import tariff on goods from China, which includes vehicles. As highlighted by Auto News, this tariff rate is significantly higher, five times the 25-percent tariff applied to vehicles imported from other countries globally. For Volvo, this tariff would render the S90, already an older model in a declining sedan segment, commercially unviable in the American market.
Instead, the Automotive News insider suggests that Volvo will redirect its focus towards its top-selling models, which are crossovers such as the XC90, XC60, and XC40. Additionally, the Swedish brand will reportedly reduce incentives on its current offerings to help offset the financial impact of future tariffs. Nevertheless, the company faces a challenging situation, as 96.8 percent of the vehicles it sells in America are imported.
The discontinuation of the S90 in the US represents the latest in a series of significant disruptions affecting the foreign car market. Several automakers, including Lotus, JLR, VW, and Audi, have reportedly paused shipments to the US to further evaluate the consequences of the tariffs, amidst an environment where the Trump administration’s policies appear subject to frequent adjustments.
It is anticipated that the S90 will not be the only vehicle affected by these tariffs, suggesting further instability within the market.
