Volvo Bets Big On Chinese Factories

Volvo's global sales are on a downward trajectory. The Geely-owned Swedish marker saw its 2012 global sales drop 6%. In the first four months of the year, sales were down 6.4 percent. Two new factories in China are supposed to bring the turn-around, a feature in Reuters says. A new plant in Chengdu is "more or less completed," a Volvo spokesman told the wire. Full production should begin in the fourth quarter in a plant good for 125,000 cars a year. A second assembly plant in Daqing is expected to come online in late 2014. Volvo wants to reach annual global sales of 800,000 units by 2020 from 373,000 sold in 2010. Volvo wants to profit from China's new command-frugality that (rather ineffectually) frowns on public display of conspicuous consumption. Some drivers are cautious not to look too flashy – "which could play to Volvo's strengths in quality and solidity," Reuters says. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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