Geely aims to sell 150,000 Volvo cars in China by 2015

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has set a goal of selling 150,000 Volvo cars in China each year by 2015, according to the Shanghai Securities News.

Zhejiang Geely, the parent of Geely Automobile Holdings, is purchasing Ford’s Volvo segment and plans to take over it in the third quarter. The newspaper added that as soon as the sale is completed, it will proceed with producing the Volvo XC60 crossover in China later this year. And in 2011, it is set to produce the Volvo S60. Zhejiang Geely has not yet chosen a location for the China plant of Volvo. The areas being considered include the capital Beijing, Chengdu in the southeast and Ningbo in the east. Currently, the Volvo S40 and S80 models are being rolled out at Ford’s China car venture with Changan Automobile Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. The newspaper further divulged that the S40 will stop production in the future but there was no mention of what will be the outcome of the S80. Geely has yet to comment on this report. It can be recalled that last March, Geely inked a deal to purchase Volvo for $1.8 billion, marking the country’s biggest auto purchase overseas.