Former Volvo CEO Returns to Navigate Automaker in Turbulent Era

You might not expect an automaker who had a banner year in 2024 to replace their CEO in 2025, but that’s precisely what Volvo did this week. Last month, Volvo announced that it had set new sales records in 2024, hailing the year as its second in a row to establish new records. This month, the company announced the appointment of a new CEO, with Håkan Samuelsson succeeding Jim Rowan.

If Samuelsson’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he served as Volvo Cars CEO from 2012 until 2022. His term begins on April 1 and is set to last for two years; the overall impression from Volvo’s announcement is that he will be involved in the selection of his successor.

“Håkan led Volvo Cars through one of its most transformative and value-creating decades — revitalising the brand, expanding into new markets, and successfully executing its IPO,” said Eric Li, Volvo Cars’ chairperson of the board. “He brings a rare combination of industrial depth, strategic clarity, and proven leadership and Håkan has a broad knowledge of our group.”

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While Volvo Cars’ 2024 was, by all accounts, a good one for the automaker, a closer look at its year-end summary does offer some inkling of why the company’s leadership saw the need for change. “For the first six months, we recorded strong double-digit volume growth,” Rowan said in a statement last month. “But like the rest of the industry, we experienced a more challenging second half. Demand slowed down and this had an impact on both our sales pace and underlying profitability.”

Evidently, the automaker’s board felt more comfortable with Samuelsson running things through 2026 than with Rowan continuing on in the position. With new tariffs from the U.S. likely in the picture, Volvo won’t lack for challenges in the short term. Last year, Samuelsson retired from his position as board chair for Polestar, which shares a parent company with Volvo.