Jim Rowan

Jim Rowan
Nationality	British
Occupation	Business executive
Title	Former CEO of Volvo Cars
Employer	Lotus Cars (board member)
Known for	CEO of Volvo Cars (2022–2025)

Jim Rowan is a British business executive who served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Volvo Cars from 2022 until his departure on 31 March 2025. Rowan's tenure at the helm of the Swedish automaker was marked by the company's continued transition toward electrification and his outspoken advocacy for stricter enforcement of European Union emissions regulations. Prior to joining Volvo, Rowan built a career in the technology and consumer electronics sectors, bringing a non-traditional background to the automotive industry. His appointment represented a strategic choice by Volvo's parent company, Geely Holding Group, to bring a technology-oriented leader to guide the brand through a period of rapid transformation. Following his departure from Volvo in early 2025, Rowan was succeeded by Håkan Samuelsson, the company's previous long-serving CEO who was brought back on a two-year term. Rowan subsequently joined the board of directors at Lotus Cars, another brand within the Geely automotive group.

Career

Pre-Volvo career

Before entering the automotive industry, Jim Rowan developed his career in the technology sector. His background was notably distinct from that of traditional automotive executives, a contrast that was frequently highlighted during his time at Volvo Cars. When Volvo announced the leadership change in March 2025, industry commentators noted that the returning CEO Håkan Samuelsson's deep auto industry background stood in contrast to Rowan's profile as a technology-sector leader.

CEO of Volvo Cars

Rowan assumed the role of CEO of Volvo Cars in 2022, succeeding Håkan Samuelsson, who had led the company from 2012 to 2022. He served as CEO for approximately three years, during which the company continued its strategy of transitioning toward electric vehicles.

During his tenure, Rowan was an outspoken voice on European Union climate and emissions policy. In March 2025, shortly before his departure, Rowan publicly criticized the EU's decision to give automakers additional time to meet stricter carbon dioxide emissions targets. He argued that the delay in enforcing CO2 emissions fines — which would primarily affect rival automakers that had not yet met the targets — eroded trust between regulators and the automotive industry. Volvo, which had invested heavily in electrification, stood to lose a competitive advantage if rivals were granted more lenient timelines.

Departure from Volvo

On 30 March 2025, Volvo Cars announced that Rowan would step down as CEO effective the following day, 31 March 2025. The company's board of directors voted to replace him after three years at the helm. The decision to bring back Håkan Samuelsson was described by multiple industry observers as a surprise. Samuelsson, who had steered Volvo to record sales and profits during his decade as CEO, was appointed on a two-year term beginning 1 April 2025.

The leadership change was widely interpreted as a strategic pivot by the company back toward traditional automotive industry expertise. Automotive News reported that Samuelsson's deep auto industry background contrasted with Rowan's technology-sector origins, and that Samuelsson had not only revitalized the Volvo brand during his first tenure but also built significant institutional relationships within the industry. Car and Driver reported that Rowan would "step down and leave Volvo's" leadership entirely, rather than transitioning to another role within the company.

Post-Volvo roles

Following his departure from Volvo, Rowan remained within the broader Geely Holding Group ecosystem. By July 2025, it was reported that he had joined the board of directors at Lotus Cars, the British sports car manufacturer owned by Geely. The appointment was part of a broader pattern in which Geely found new roles for former executives of its subsidiary brands; Thomas Ingenlath, the former CEO of Polestar, who had also departed his position earlier in 2025, was simultaneously appointed as a design adviser at the Geely Group level.

Recognition

During his tenure as CEO of Volvo Cars, Rowan gained visibility as a vocal advocate for the enforcement of emissions regulations within the European automotive industry. His March 2025 comments criticizing the EU's decision to delay enforcement of CO2 emissions fines received significant coverage in the automotive trade press, positioning him as a prominent industry figure on the topic of regulatory consistency and its impact on companies that had made early investments in electrification.

Rowan's departure from Volvo and the subsequent appointment of his predecessor as a replacement generated substantial media attention in both the specialist automotive press and general-interest automotive publications, including Automotive News, Car and Driver, InsideEVs, and CarBuzz.