Saturday, November 14, 2009

Geely plans to launch up to three new luxury Volvo models

Within only four years of having taken over Volvo from Ford, Geely plans to launch up to three new luxury models, according to company sources. The Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which is Ford’s preferred bidder for Volvo, told the Wall Street Journal that the firm would sell two or three bigger, more luxurious cars within the next four years to boost global sales.

Under Geely’s restructuring plan for Volvo, the target is to achieve global sales of more than one million units per year. Currently, Volvo’s sales are around 400,000 units per year, but Geely plans to more than double this number within five years.

To do so, Geely plans to build a new plant in China with the capability of producing 300,000 units per year. Geely predicts that Volvo could sell up to 200,000 units per year in China.

Last year, it sold 12,600 units. Geely is offering around two billion euro for Volvo but what makes the sale drawn out are the issues over intellectual property rights.