Geely’s Volvo Cars has officially started series production of the S60L at its manufacturing plant in Chengdu, China.
The move establishes China as the brand’s second home market. The S60L is a long wheelbase version specifically aimed at the Chinese market and will make its official debut at the Guangzhou Motor Show on November 21. Rival German brands BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz also make special LWB models in China.
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Volvo Cars’ long-term strategy and business plan calls for sales of 800,000 cars globally a year.
China retail sales so far this year are up over 40% year on year. The cars are currently sold at over 150 dealerships in China, up from around 100 dealerships two years ago.
An engine plant in Zhangjiakou also become operational this autumn and delivers engines to the assembly plant in Chengdu. Volvo Cars now has over 2,000 employees in China, around half of which work at the headquarters in Shanghai.
“We are truly firing on all cylinders in China,” said China operations chief Lars Danielson.
The plant is located in the Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone, south east of the Chengdu city centre, on a plot of 500,000 sq m. Currently, it employs around 1,200 blue and white-collar workers. Annual production capacity is 120,000, corresponding to a line speed of 30 cars per hour throughout two work shifts per working day.
Some Volvos were previously built in China by a now defunct joint venture involving Ford and Mazda with whose models they shared platforms and other components.
