Volvo Cars posts 6% December sales rise as recovery continues

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Car maker Volvo Cars said on Thursday its sales grew 6% in December, marking a continued sharp recovery from the lows earlier this year in the wake of the pandemic .

The company, owned by China's Geely Holding, said sales in the second half were the strongest in its history, while full-year sales dropped 6.2% to 661,713 cars.

"We had a great second half of the year after a tough start, gaining market share in all our main sales regions," Volvo's head of Global Commercial Operations, Lex Kerssemakers, said in a statement.

"We aim to build on this positive trend in 2021 as we continue to roll out new electrified Volvos and expand our online business."

Volvo's December sales in Europe dropped 1.8%, while China grew 9.9% and sales in the United States jumped 15.2%.

(Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; Editing by Simon Johnson)