2010-06-25 14:24

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which is buying Ford Motor's Volvo car unit, aims to sell 150,000 Volvo cars in China annually by 2015, the Shanghai Securities News said on Friday.

Zhejiang Geely, parent of Geely Automobile Holdings, which aims to take over the Swedish premier brand in the third quarter, plans to make the Volvo XC60 sport utility vehicle in China later this year, followed by Volvo S60 in 2011, the newspaper said, citing sources.

Zhejiang Geely has yet to pick a site for the China plant for the premier Swedish brand, but the capital Beijing, Chengdu in the southeast and Ningbo in the east, are among the options, it said.

Volvo S40 and S80 models are currently made at Ford's China car venture Changan-Ford-Mazda. Production of S40 will be halted in the future, the newspaper said, but made no mention of the fate of S80.

A Geely spokesman declined to comment.

In March, Geely signed a deal to buy the Swedish brand for $1.8 billion, marking the country's biggest auto purchase overseas.