Volvo is a car marque synonymous with safety, refinement and luxury. The Swedish car maker has been under Chinese ownership since 2010, when it got bought from the American auto firm Ford. The deal was worth around $1.8 billion.
Around the time of the sale, Volvo Cars were suffering huge losses. The problem was further compounded with the global economic crisis from the last decade. It was for those reasons that former parent Ford decided to sell up.
Fast forward to 2014, and things are now looking peachy for Volvo Cars. Its Chinese owners have invested a lot of time and money to turn the company’s fortunes around. And now, it seems like Geely is to reap the benefits of such an investment.
According to a recent news article, Volvo Cars has returned to profit. The firm boasts strong first-half growth, thanks to extra car sales in China and Europe. The North American market hasn’t fared so well. It would seem that growth in other markets have helped to bolster Volvo’s fortunes.
Volvo is one of Sweden’s biggest exporters, and the firm announced a 9% profit for the first six months of 2014.
Growth expectations
The Swedish car maker have said that the growth is in life with their projected sales figures. In China, Volvo Cars expect to sell 80,000 vehicles in 2014. This year’s profit to date is around $176.5 million, which is a huge improvement over the loss of $577 million the company had in 2013.
Volvo has ambitious plans for the future. They want to double their annual sales to 800,000 cars worldwide by 2020. And they also want to take on market leaders Daimler, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
New model – Volvo XC90 SUV
During August 2014, Volvo Cars are launching the XC90 SUV. It will be the company’s first new model introduced to the market since they got bought by their Chinese parent.
According to Mick from Motorline Direct, the Volvo XC90 SUV has had over $11 billion of investment from Geely. That investment comes in the form of new components and factories. Volvo are pinning their hopes on the new model being a huge success so that they can better compete with Germany’s “big three.”
The Volvo XC90 SUV is going to be the company’s flagship model, their “all-in” car, to quote their words. The model has had a major overhaul and doesn’t have many features in common with its predecessor.
For instance, the old XC90 had more than sixty buttons on the dashboard and centre console. Whereas the new version has just eight!
Volvo are betting on this new XC90 SUV to be a winner as it needs to help increase sales in the US and Chinese markets. It seems like the firm is putting a lot of pressure on itself. Lex Kerssemakers, the head of product strategy, says, “every car we launch has to be spot on.”
What are your thoughts on the new XC90? Post up your comments below!
