(Refiles to remove extraneous word in paragraph 1)
STOCKHOLM, April 2 (Reuters) - Sweden-based Volvo Cars sold 153,316 cars in the three months through March, down 11% from the same quarter a year earlier as the Iran war worsened already tough market conditions, it said on Thursday.
* Volvo Cars, which is majority-owned by China's GeelyHolding, said in a statement volumes in the Americas region fell28% due to weak customer sentiment, made worse by the conflictin the Middle East. * It said volumes for fully electric models increased 12%to account for 24% of all cars sold. * "Sales figures from the first quarter continue toillustrate the persistent challenges facing the automotiveindustry globally, in the form of continued pricing pressure,uncertain geopolitics, tariffs and adverse regulatory changes,"it said. * "Fully electric cars remain the key growth driver forVolvo Cars and for the industry." * Volvo Cars shares fell nearly 2% by 0718 GMT, taking ayear-to-date drop to 30%
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Niklas Pollard)
