STOCKHOLM: Volvo Car Group's monthly sales fell 24.8% in April from a year ago, the Sweden-based automaker said on Wednesday, as lockdowns in China and global supply chain problems hampered production.

The Gothenburg-based company said however that demand remained strong, while the share of fully electric cars rose to 10% from 9% in March. It aims for 50% of its sales to be pure electric cars by the middle of this decade.

"In April, Covid-19 lockdowns in eastern China impacted retail deliveries in China and added more challenges to already weakened global supply chains, resulting in additional loss of production," Volvo said in a statement.

Volvo Cars profit beats forecasts despite chip shortage

Sales in China at the company, which is majority owned by China's Geely Holding, declined 47.8% in April, while in the United States they fell 9.2% and in Europe 23.2%.

Volvo Cars reported last week forecast-beating profits despite higher costs due to the war in Ukraine, and a global shortage of semiconductors.