Volvo has more than 36,000 pre-orders for the new XC90

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The new Volvo XC90 is just starting to trickle through to customers around the world, but Volvo has a 36,000 order book for the XC90 to fulfil already.

The first reviews of the new Volvo XC90 have been overwhelmingly positive as Volvo seeks to position the new XC90 as a car that is as innovative and appealing as the original XC90 was when it arrived more than a decade ago.

The trouble for Volvo is that they are only just starting to get cars out to customers (with the recent XC90 recall indicating there were only a couple of hundred cars in customers’ hands at the end of April), which is having a bit of an impact on Volvo’s global sales.

Volvo is reporting global sales down for May 2015 by 1.3 per cent, as deliveries of the new XC90 fell short of sales of the old XC90 a year ago

Despite an overall drop in sales in May, Volvo saw strong demand in Europe – up 8.6 per cent overall, although Sweden saw a dip by 4 per cent – with Spain recording a jump of 54.7 per cent. Sales in the US were flat and fell in China slightly, although sales of the locally produced S60L and XC60 were up on average by around 12 per cent.

But with the new XC90s now flowing to customers more freely – and a 36,000 pre-order list to work through – it seems likely sales will start to rise, as the impact of a third shift in Gothenburg to produce the XC90 kicks in and local sales start in China next month.