With the financial backing of its parent company Geely, Volvo is planning on exporting and selling Chinese-built cars in North America.
According to Reuters via Automotive News, an unnamed company executive said Volvo thinks it could minimize foreign currency exchange risks by selling Chinese-made cars in North America, which could also pave the way for Geely to establish a more solid image outside of China. David Ibison, Volvo’s head of media relations, reportedly confirmed the automaker will begin exporting cars from China, but didn’t specify when or to which markets.
That being said, the U.S.will likely be the first, starting with the S60L, a long-wheelbase version of the S60. In addition, Russia is also on the table, where Volvo could export the redesigned XC90 as early as next year. The company executive said eventually, nearly 10,000 S60Ls and a few thousand XC90s will be exported annually.
As part of the move, Volvo will reportedly use two plants in China for the exported models. One plant is in the Chengdu, which began building the S60L last year, while the company’s Daqing facility is getting ready to produce the redesigned XC90.
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