The Volvo S80L

 

Volvo Car believes China's auto market will continue to grow in 2009 and it expects to achieve more than 10 percent sales growth in China this year.

 

Volvo sold about 13,000 locally produced and imported cars in China in 2009, says Alexander Klose, CEO of Volvo Car China last week in Beijing.

 

It was the first time in the past five years that Volvo's annual sales growth in China has declined to below 10 percent, he adds.

 

Klose made the remarks in an event held in Beijing last Thursday for the launch of a long-wheelbase version of the S80L in China.

 

The toughest time for Volvo Car in China was the end of last year and the confidence is "coming back" in the market in the first two months of this year, says Klose.

 

Volvo Car's sales growth target for 2009 in China is "beyond 10 percent," he adds.

 

The S80L has a wheelbase 140mm longer than that of the imported S80. It is specially developed for Chinese customers.

 

The car provides deeply padded leather seats, a rear seat entertainment system and a refrigerator in the back seat to attract China's chauffeur-driven customers.

 

Stretched versions of the Audi A6 and BMW 5 series are selling well in China.

 

The S80L is assembled by Ford Motor Co.'s joint venture Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co. in the southwest China city of Chongqing.

 

The S80L only shares a limited number of components with other brands made in the factory, Gerry Keaney, vice president of Volvo Car Group, told Automotive News China at the same event.

 

Key components such as engines and transmissions still have to be imported from Sweden, says Keaney.

 

Keaney says: "China offers a significant opportunity for Volvo in parts sourcing and we look to secure and expand our localization in China."

 

Volvo will import the XC60 SUV in April, says Klose.

 

Volvo started assembling the S40 sedan in China in 2006. It also sells the imported S80 sedan, C30 hatchback, C70 convertible and XC 90 SUV in the market here.