By Agata Rybska and Jesus Calero
(Reuters) -Truck maker Volvo reported a bigger-than-expected fall in first-quarter profit on Wednesday and lowered its North America truck market outlook, pointing to increased uncertainty around tariffs and their impact on global trade.
The Swedish group said it now sees the North American heavy truck market at 275,000 new vehicles this year. Its previous forecast, from January, was for 300,000 new heavy trucks.
It repeated a market outlook for 290,000 new heavy trucks in Europe, adding however that current market conditions meant forecasts are subject to significant uncertainty.
Operating profit was 13.3 billion crowns ($1.39 billion) against a year-earlier 18.2 billion and a mean forecast in an LSEG poll of analysts of 14.8 billion.
“Sales of vehicles were 9% lower than in Q1 2024 and as the quarter went by, there was increased uncertainty surrounding tariffs and their effect on global trade” CEO Martin Lundstedt said in a statement.
Lundstedt said uncertainty around trade tariffs and emissions legislation had caused U.S. customers to adopt a wait and see approach.
“In the fast-changing geopolitical landscape, it is too early to assess the full implications from the imposed tariffs,” he said.
He said Volvo was working to adapt production capacity and commercial terms to mitigate the effects from tariffs and their impact on demand.
Volvo said on Friday it would lay off as many as 800 workers at three U.S. facilities over the next three months due to market uncertainty and demand concerns in the face of import tariffs announced by President Donald Trump.
($1 = 9.5533 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Agata Rybska, Jesus Calero, editing by Anna Ringstrom)
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