Volvo Cars reports 28% drop in May sales as China lockdowns weigh

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Volvo Car Group's May sales were down 28.3% from a year earlier, the Sweden-based automaker said on Thursday, as supply chain problems and lockdowns hampered production.

Volvo said however that demand remained strong, especially for its Recharge line-up of electric and hybrid models, adding that fully electric cars accounted for 7.9% of its May sales.

The Gothenburg-based company aims for 50% of its sales to be pure electric cars by the middle of the decade.

"During May, the COVID-19-related lockdowns in eastern China continued to add more stress to already strained global supply chains, resulting in a loss of production," Volvo said in a statement.

Sales in China at the company, which is majority owned by China's Geely Holding, were down 43.8% in May, while in the United States they fell by 29.1% and in Europe by 24.3%.

(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; editing by Jason Neely)