If you want to build cars – or anything else, for that matter, in China, there are two basic requirements: a) you need a joint venture with a local partner and b) receive approval from the Chinese government.
Volvo is already owned by a Chinese company, and in particular, Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., so all it needed to build vehicles in China was clearance from government authorities.
Following an approval for the Chengdu plant in June, today the Swedish was granted the right to begin manufacturing in China at its plants in Daqing and Zhangjiakou, which will be operated in the form of two joint venture companies, in which Volvo will initially hold 30 percent, with the remaining share held by parent company Geely.
The Daqing assembly plant is under construction with the first demo cars to roll out at the end of the year, before the factory becomes fully operational in 2014, while the engine factory in Zhangjiakou, will begin serial production in the fourth quarter of 2013 supplying both the Daqing and Chengdu plants.
“The plants in China will be operated in full accordance with Volvo Cars manufacturing standards and procedures, equal to those of the company’s European plants,” said Volvo in a statement.
The company expects to deliver some 200,000 cars in China by 2018, compared to around 40,000 in 2012. Volvo didn’t say if the China-made cars will be sold exclusively for the local market or if it plans to offer them in other markets as well.
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