In an unexpected move, Jim Rowan is stepping down at CEO of Swedish-based, Chinese-automaker Volvo Cars. He will be replaced by Hakan Samuelsson, who previous served in that role from 2012 to 2022. The move comes at a time when Volvo is aggressively moving to EVs but also faces a variety of tariff issues in the U.S. and Europe. More from Headlight.News.
Volvo faces a variety of challenges – signaled by the sudden shift in the C-suite.
There’s been an unexpected shake-up at the top for Volvo Cars.
Jim Rowan, the Scotsman who took over as chief executive officer in 2022 will hand the reins back to the man he replaced, 74-year-old Hakkan Samuelsson.
The precise reasons behind 59-year-old Rowan’s departure have not been revealed but the transition comes at a challenging time for Volvo – which is based in Sweden but ownd by China’s Geely. The company, under Samuelsson, had been on a path to an all-electric future but Rowan backed away from that plan, ordering Volvo to retain hybrids in its line-up. Meanwhile, Volvo now has to cope with tariffs impacting products it sells in the critical markets of Europe and the U.S.
Rowan loses support
Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan joined the automaker in 2022.
When he was named as Samuelsson’s replacement three years ago, it took many in the automotive world by surprise. Rowan’s background was in the tech industry and he had most immediately been working for Dyson.
Exactly why Volvo and Rowan now are parting ways wasn’t revealed but a statement issued over the weekend clearly suggested the automaker’s board had lost faith in its CEO.
“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.
Back in the saddle again
Samuelsson set in motion Volvo’s shift to an all-electric future.
In turn, Samuelsson received praise from the board and, notably, Eric Li, the chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding, which owns Volvo Cars. “Hakan led Volvo Cars through one of its most transformative and value-creating decades — revitalizing the brand, expanding into new markets, and successfully executing its IPO,” Li said in the release. “He brings a rare combination of industrial depth, strategic clarity, and proven leadership and Hakan has a broad knowledge of our group.”
Samuelsson original was named CEO in 2012, during a difficult time for Volvo. It had struggled during the short period when it was owned by Ford Motor Co. under its now-abandoned Premier Automotive Group before being sold to Geely in 2010. He restructured its product program, initially focusing on hybrids and plug-in hybrids, then putting in place a plan to go all-electric.
The plan paid off, Volvo revenues growing from 124.5 billion Swedish crowns to 282 billion during his tenure. It had just broken even in 2012 but deliver a 7.2% operating margin in 2022, both records. The year before his departure, Samulesson further shored things up by overseeing a Volvo IPO.
More Volvo News
- First Drive: 2025 Volvo EX90 Twin-Motor Performance
- Volvo Exits Vehicle Subscription Market
- First Drive: 2024 Volvo EX30
Rough road ahead
The Volvo EX30 now faces stiff tariffs in the U.S. and EU.
Geely’s acquisition of Volvo appeared to give it momentum – and money from the deep-pocketed Chinse company. It also gained the opportunity to leverage Geely platforms and technology, improving its economies of scale.
But Rowan had his own ideas about where to take Volvo. During little more than two years, he reversed his predecessor’s plans to turn the automaker into an all-electric brand, a move that reflected the slowing growth in the global EV market. But parent company Geely, along with its other brands, such as Zeekr, have remained focused on battery-electric vehicles which may have created strains that ultimately cost Rowan his job, said one well-placed source, asking to be referred to on background.
It hasn’t helped that geo-politics have, in many ways, boxed Volvo in. In Europe, regulators have become increasingly concerned about the rise of Chinese automaker who, in a number of regional markets, now rival domestic EV brands, especially in the EV factor. That’s led to new tariffs there. Meanwhile, in the U.S., former President Joe Biden quadrupled tariffs on Chinese EVs, and his successor, Donald Trump, is placed new trade sanctions on China.
It does help that one of Samuelsson’s move has turned out to be especially prescient: the assembly plant he had set up just outside Charleston, South Carolina producing models like the all-electric EX90. It “establishes the U.S. as our third home market,” the Swedish executive told Automotive News in 2018.
But it only produces a fraction of the Volvo product line. With the automaker now facing Trump’s tariffs on both European and Chinese-made model lines, Samuelsson will have plenty of challenges handed over to him with the departure of Rowan.
0 Comments