By Marie Mannes and Nick Carey
Stockholm/London (Reuters) – Volvo (Volcar -B.st) Auto’s abrupte beslissing om Hakan Samuelsson aan te tappen, aangezien de CEO de veteraan van de auto -industrie weer de leiding geeft over het sturen van de automaker door de tarbulentie van de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump en een wiebelige overgang naar elektrische auto’s, analisten en investeerders, zeiden ze.
Samuelsson, who led the Swedish automaker for a decade from 2012 to 2022, helped revitalizing the Volvo brand and supervised the first public offer of the company in 2021 at the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
He also ran Volvo during Trump’s first term, in which the company built a car transmission factory in South Carolina, a movement that could be crucial if Trump continues and 25% rates on the import of American cars on Wednesday.
His background of the car industry contrasts with the departing CEO Jim Rowan, who had given himself to Dyson in 2022 without experience in the car industry.
Rowan was an unconventional choice with a career of three decades in consumer and technological sectors. But at the time the automaker said that Rowan’s experience with digitization, disturbance, innovation, engineering and supply chains would be valuable.
Volvo Cars Board chairman Eric Li, also known as Li Shufu, said that Samuelsson’s experience was exactly what was needed because the car industry entered a more complex phase.
“We know Håkan Samuelsson as a very expert and experienced leader in the industry,” said Carina Silberg, head of the administration and ESG at Alecta, the fifth largest shareholder in Volvo Cars.
Sverre Linton, Chief Legal Officer of the Swedish shareholders’ association, who represents small shareholders in Volvo, said: “But … Samuelsson is not a wizard, he also needs the help of a solid strategy in which the board plays a central role.”
Other investors and analysts said in research notes and interviews with Reuters that they were surprised by the news, but repeated the view that the Volvo returned to its roots.
Samuelsson, 74, has been appointed for a period of two years while the company is looking for a long -term replacement.
The shares of Volvo, which have fallen nearly 70% since the 2021 list of the group, fell slightly on Monday and reached a new low point, although the move was in line with the wider market in Stockholm, which was almost 2%.
“For me it was a bit unexpected, the share price clearly dismissed the car, but on the other hand the company did better,” said Handelsbanken analyst Hampus Engellau.
