Volvo ramps up strategy of producing vehicles in China for world

Swedish premium automaker Volvo Cars is revving up its strategy to develop China as a manufacturing hub for the global market.

One example: About 40 percent of the vehicles made in its Daqing plant in Heilongjiang province are now sold around the world.

The plant is the first of Volvo's production facilities in China to adopt its state-of-the-art Scalable Product Architecture, and has become the sole producer globally of the carmaker's flagship S90 sedans since November 2016.

Last week, the 100,000th S90 made at the plant rolled off the assembly line; the bright silver right-hand-drive car will be shipped to the United Kingdom, one of nearly 70 countries and regions where the model is sold.

"This is a truly significant event and the S90 is a milestone product for Volvo Cars. The importance lies in the fact that the S90 not only serves Chinese consumers, but also exports to the global market with the same premium quality," said Yuan Xiaolin, president and CEO of Volvo Asia-Pacific, in a celebratory speech at the plant.

"We are confident and fully committed to producing the best quality cars for our consumers across the world and will continue our growth in China," Yuan said.

David Stenstrom, the Daqing plant's general manager, said Volvo executives used to have concerns about whether China-built vehicles would meet the company's high global standards, but those worries have been tossed aside.

"(That is) because we have long proved that Volvo cars made in China have won global recognition," Stenstrom said.

From January to October this year, sales for S90 worldwide totaled 47,811 units, with year-on-year growth of 40.8 percent, according to the carmaker.

The first batch of China-made S90s exported to Europe started in April 2017, and one month later, another batch embarked on their journey to the United States.

In 2015, Volvo became the first premium carmaker to export China-built cars to developed markets, when the long-wheelbase S60 sedans made at its Chengdu plant were shipped to the United States.

Currently, Volvo's exports to Europe and the United States amount to about half of all China-made vehicles sold there, according to the carmaker.

Globally, Volvo sold 526,062 cars in the first 10 months this year, up 14 percent year-on year. Its sales have been growing fast in China, as well, despite the chill the world's largest automotive market has felt starting from the middle of the year.

Sales in the country totaled 107,275 units from January to October, growing 15.2 percent from the same period last year. It took one month less this year than in 2017 for Volvo to sell 100,000 units in China, according to Zhao Qin, vice-president of corporate communications of Volvo Cars Asia-Pacific.

"Such statistics are proof that Volvo cars have won not only the recognition in China, but also around the world. With such a good foundation, I believe we will see faster and better development in the future," Zhao said.