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Former CEO Samuelsson returns for 2-year stint

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Replaces Jim Rowan from April 1

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Appointment comes amid industry challenges, new tariffs

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Volvo shares drop to record low

(Updates March 30 story to add context on tariffs, detail on

share performance, quote, in paragraphs 1-4)

COPENHAGEN, March 31 (Reuters) - Volvo Cars

, majority-owned by China's Geely, has brought back

former CEO Hakan Samuelsson to head the company for the next two

years at a turbulent time marked by mounting tariff pressures,

replacing Jim Rowan who has run the group since 2022.

Samuelsson, 74, takes the helm after U.S. President Donald

Trump last week followed through on his threats for new tariffs

on imported cars, saying a 25% duty on vehicles not built in the

U.S. would kick in this week.

"The car industry is under pressure from many directions,"

Samuelsson said in a statement.

Shares in the company, which are down almost 70% since the

group's 2021 listing, fell by 1.2% to a new all-time low by 0844

GMT on Monday, while the wider market in Stockholm was

down 1.6%.

Samuelsson is taking on the job on Tuesday and will serve a

two-year term while the group prepares to appoint a long-term

successor, it said on Sunday.

Rowan's exit comes only about three years after his

appointment in January 2022, which followed Volvo's listing on

the Stockholm Stock Exchange the previous year.

Volvo Cars board Chair Eric Li said the company was facing

fast-moving technological shifts, growing geopolitical

challenges, and intensifying competition.

"He brings a rare combination of industrial depth, strategic

clarity, and proven leadership and Hakan has a broad knowledge

of our group," Li said of the veteran CEO who ran Volvo from

2012 to 2022.

Last month Volvo Cars warned that 2025 would be a tumultuous

and competitive year during which it might struggle to match its

2024 sales performance and profitability.

Geely Sweden, which manages the group's investments in the

European brands such as Polestar and Volvo Cars, declined to

give further comment.

Trump is set to announce further tariffs on Wednesday, which

he has dubbed "Liberation Day."