The maker of radar and vision systems reported a $64 million operating loss, improving from a $137 million loss a year ago and well above the $134 million loss forecast in a poll of analysts published on the company's website.

The car industry, which was already grappling with slowing demand and mounting costs for the shift to electric vehicles and advanced automation before the pandemic hit, was particularly hard hit early in the quarter as production was halted in many markets by widespread lockdowns.

Sweden-based Veoneer, which competes with the likes of Aptiv, Bosch and Continental, said customers in Europe and North America had gradually ramped up output during the latter part of the second quarter.

"Despite the extreme conditions in the quarter, our market adjustment initiatives are having the desired effects and we are currently on track to reach our efficiency targets for 2020," CEO and Chairman Jan Carlson said in a statement.

Veoneer has moved to cut staff and furloughed still more while also trimming spending on research and development, which is expected to drop by more than $100 million from last year.

The company, which makes vision systems, radar and software for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and supplies carmakers such as Daimler, Ford and Honda, said it still expects sales this year to outpace light-vehicle production.

(Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom and Niklas Pollard; Editing by David Goodman)