A newly published Bloomberg report suggests that Chinese automaker Geely, the owners of Volvo, are looking to start exporting cars to the US as soon as 2016. The report follows a very similar one that we commented on a few days back. It announced Geely’s intention to produce vehicles co-developed with Volvo, which would be launched in 2015 and benefit not only from the Swedes’ car-making know-how, but also their name…
The start of US sales is the single most difficult ambition set forth by the Chinese company. It failed to do so, despite first trying between 2006 and 2008, but this time around, it may actually have a shot, if these Volvo-developed cars turn out to be any good.
We were particularly impressed with the sleek, contemporary (very Volvo-esque) design of the Geely KC concept, a shape which looks as premium as any car currently in the Volvo range. If that’s a sign of things to come, then they really may have a shot in the US, where the space once occupied by Kia and Hyundai for many years has now been left vacant – Geely could move in there and undercut these (now) established Korean brands.
Regardless of how they go about doing it, though, the plan is set in stone – they (Geely) want to get 60 percent of their revenue from overseas sales by 2018. Meanwhile, they are still keeping an eye on the local market too, and they are now planning to add a new SUV to the Chinese range next year “to better tap into the fast-growing segment.”
By Andrei Nedelea
PHOTO GALLERY
