STOCKHOLM–Volvo Car AB said Friday that car sales rose 2% on year in January. The Swedish auto maker
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–majority owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group–said it sold 48,520 cars in January, up from 47,561 in the same month last year.
In Europe, sales rose 14.7% to 21,436 cars, driven by markets such as the U.K., Italy and Belgium, while sales in China fell 19.5% to 11,783 cars due to the timing of the Chinese New Year. The company reported a sales increase of 8.2% in the U.S. to 7,693 cars. Volvo’s recharge range of fully-electric or plug-in hybrid models accounted for 40.7% of all Volvo cars sold globally in January, while fully electric models accounted for 16.2% of global sales, the company said. Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com