Geely says it could sell 1 million Volvos a year

Geely believes that, under its management, Ford Motor’s loss-making Volvo unit could sell nearly 1 million vehicles worldwide every year, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Chinese firm, which was last month named as the preferred bidder for the Swedish automaker, is prepared for a long battle in sealing the US$2 billion deal. The turnaround plan, intended to build confidence in Geely’s bid, would see the construction of a Volvo plant in China capable of producing 300,000 vehicles a year – but with most of the sophisticated engineering staying in Sweden. The company hopes to reach its 1 million sales target – Volvo’s annual sales are around 400,000 units – within four or five years. Efforts would be boosted by annual sales of 200,000 cars a year in China, up from 12,600 in 2008. Geely also wants to use Volvo’s full European manufacturing capacity to sell 600,000 units a year to Europe and North America.