China will become Volvo's second world market in 2014
- Volvo Cars now has two plants in Europe: one in Sweden (Gothenburg) and the other in Belgium (Ghent). In 2013, these two plants produced 411 000 vehicles (161 000 in Gothenburg and 250 000 in Ghent).
- Volvo's top three markets are currently : Europe (210 000 sales of which 54 000 in Sweden), the U.S. (just over 61 000 sales in 2013) and China (61 000 sales).
- In 2014, China is expected to overtake the U.S. and become Volvo Cars’ second world market. Indeed, the Swedish brand has plans to sell around 80 000 cars in the country throughout the year, against 65 000 in the United States.
- The Swedish brand tables on a growth in sales in China (+30%) higher than the increase in sales expected in the segment of premium vehicles for all brands (20%, according to Volvo forecasts ).
- In the first quarter, Volvo has seen its sales increase by 25%. This strong growth is due to the support of the parent company Geely, that has helped Volvo rapidly develop its sales network in China. In addition, with the construction of a new plant in Chengdu, Geely is giving Volvo the opportunity to produce and sell locally in large quantities. In fact, Volvo aims 200 000 sales in China in 2018. The manufacturer expects 800 000 sales worldwide in 2018, nearly twice that of 2013, but almost three times less than segment leaders such as BMW, Daimler and Audi.
