The Managing Director’s comments

Increased global uncertainty

The whole world is facing challenges with political and macroeconomic turbulence, and the recent trade tariffs are raising concerns for the future. Bilia operates in Sweden, Norway, Belgium and Luxembourg and we are not as yet directly affected by increased tariffs.

In these uncertain times, our primary focus is to work on efficiency and profit ability, especially in our Service Business where we can see opportunities for continued growth in profits. In the first quarter, the Service Business generated 81 per cent of the Group’s earnings and the margin improved to 12.2 per cent compared to 11.9 per cent the previous year.

Our MobiliaCare business is part of our circular business model, focusing on repair, fix and reuse. In this area, efforts are progressing to expand, develop and diversify shared services for all car brands. In 2024, for example, we established three new stand-alone workshops for glass replacement and repair, and we plan to establish several more in 2025.

Bilia family grows with two new car brands in Sweden

During the first quarter, we began selling new Polestar cars at three facilities in Sweden. We also signed an agreement with Lynk & Co Sales Sweden AB to become a full-service partner for sales and servicing of new cars in Sweden. We will initially offer sales of cars from Lynk & Co at five facilities in Sweden. We will continue offering service and repair at selected authorised Volvo workshops. These new car brands bring us synergies, while complementing our range of quality plug-in hybrids and electric cars for our customers. We currently work with around 20 attractive car brands.

An unpredictable future car market

During the first quarter, we saw greater interest in buying a car among private individuals, driven by lower interest rates and attractive promotions across our brands. Demand from business customers remained stable with no signs of a slowdown. Underlying new car orders were 31 per cent higher than in the previous year, although still from relatively low levels. Demand for used cars was split, with stable demand for hybrid and fossil-fuel cars, but lower demand for electric cars.

It is hard to predict the impact on demand for new cars in the coming quarters given the generally unstable business climate at the moment, but we believe our customers will continue to service and repair their cars in the future. Even in uncertain times, there are opportunities that we want to capitalise on through wise long-term decisions, hard work and a stable financial position.