China becomes Volvo's third largest market

peter236

China becomes Volvo's third largest market

http://news.xinhuanet.com/englis ... 0/23/c_13571774.htm

English.news.cn   2010-10-23 14:26:21

TIANJIN, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- China has become Volvo's third largest market, with more of its car models to go on sale in the world's largest auto market this year, Chief Executive Office (CEO) of Volvo Cars China said in Tianjin.

Dr. Alexander Klose, CEO of Volvo Cars China, told Xinhua at the Ninth Tianjin International Automobile Trade Show, being held from Friday to Wednesday.

Klose said Volvo Cars had entered a new era of fast development, adding that its sales in China roared in 2010.

As of the end of September, Volvo's global sales volume was up 12.5 percent year on year, compared with 52 percent year-on-year rise in China, he said.

Volvo also aggressively expanded its dealer network to 98 outlets in 81 Chinese cities this year.

Two new Volvo sales centers opened in Beijing within merely one week in early October, about two months after east China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. acquired the Swedish brand from the U.S. auto giant Ford for 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in early August.

Dr. Klose said he was confident of seeing tremendous growth in China's auto market in the next five years.

"As the Chinese government has increased the tax rate for large displacement cars already, we now have a lot of cars below three liters, and I think we'll stick to that strategy, as you can see now the XC60 which was introduced today is just two liters," he said.

"As the technology advances, we'll probably even see 1.6 liter engines or 1.5 liter engines in the future," he added.

Volvo Cars is not the only automaker hoping to take advantage of China's rapidly growing auto market.

Bentley, the famous British luxury carmaker, will open a new sales center in China at Tianjin next Thursday, which is the 11th one in China, according to a press release by Shanghai-based Zenith Integrated Communications Corp. (Zenith) Saturday at the auto show.

Zenith is the public relations agent of Bentley in China. The automaker has sold 421 limousines to China in 2009, and the goal for 2010 is 777, the release said.

Editor: Yang Lina

Catpiano

Sorry .. not going to read the detail ..

So .. who is # 1 and # 2 market for Volvo? Still US ? Russia ?

People in Canada dont really buy volvo anymore ...

peter236

Sorry .. not going to read the detail ..

So .. who is # 1 and # 2 market for Volvo? Still US ? Rus ...
Catpiano 發表於 2010-10-23 20:17

Canada is such a small market for cars. But Canadians will start to buy more Volvos soon as Volvo is making a strong product line up.

Lik

Well, the thing you have to realize is, regardless of what people say, a lot of times vehicle purchases are far more emotional than logical. So it doesn't matter that Volkswagen are not the most reliable cars -- they are reliable enough for people to keep buying them, and unless Volvo can do a complete turn around of their image into something hip and desirable, instead of the boring and mundane image that they can't really shed off, there is no way they can compete with Volkswagen.

Volkswagen is a really, really big company, and they have a healthy market share everywhere else in the world outside of North America. China, in particular, is a HUGE market for them.

-Lik

blowfish

some say Volvo is taking of advantage the rule as changing someday soon, Middle Kingdom will require the govt staff car ownership ( more chinese own  as VW is not wholly own by locals more Lo Ois  ) manufactured by a Chinese own co.
Volvo could be that one.