3 bases sell 200,000 Volvos in China

2010 was a year of change for Volvo. Since Geely and Ford completed Volvo's delivery on August 2 last year, Volvo maintained good growth every quarter and gradually reversed the downward trend in sales in the past two years. Last year, Volvo sold 373,000 vehicles, an increase of 11.2% year-on-year, and achieved full-year profitability. Recently, Li Shufu, chairman of Volvo Cars Global, led a team of Volvo China executives and announced in Beijing the development strategy in China in the next five years.

It is reported that the strategic focus of Volvo Cars' development in China in the next five years includes product planning and development, sales and marketing, spare parts procurement, localization, and talent strategy. The ultimate goal is to reach 2015. It achieved sales of 200,000 vehicles in China and achieved a 20% market share in the high-end car market in China. In order to accomplish this goal, Volvo will build two production bases in Chengdu and Daqing, and set up an R&D center in Shanghai.

According to Shen Hui, Chairman of Volvo Car Group China, the Chengdu base includes an automobile plant, an engine plant and a transmission plant, and Volvo (West) Research Center, Western Parts Purchasing Center and Western Sales that match business development. center. The Chengdu vehicle plant will be put into production in 2013 with an initial planned production capacity of 100,000 vehicles. It is reported that Volvo's first domestic product will be rolled out at the Chengdu plant, which may be a larger model than the S80. After the Chengdu plant is put into operation, the second plant in Daqing will also be completed with a planned production capacity of 100,000 vehicles. Shanghai Jiading, as the administrative hub and R&D center of Volvo Car Group China, will be responsible for the design and R&D of Volvo premium cars, electric vehicles and new energy vehicles.

In addition, Volvo will strengthen the management of sales and markets, deepen cooperation with dealers, and plan to increase the existing 106 4S stores to 220 to improve and enhance customer experience and services.

Talent team "China and the West"

At the conference, Volvo Cars China's executive team debuted for the first time. This "Chinese and Western" leadership team lined up on the stage, unified stance and unified smile, showing a brand-new posture belonging to Volvo.

It is understood that the talent strategy is a major focus of Volvo's development plan in China in the next five years. Shen Hui said that Volvo plans to recruit hundreds of employees in China and the world and work online with the global R&D headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden to develop and design automotive products for the global and Chinese markets. He stressed that Volvo Cars must establish a "Chinese-Western combination" and a dedicated team to establish a "global, localized" corporate culture.

In order to better root in China and also to implement China's strategy, Volvo has established a brand-new Chinese organizational structure. Nearly half of the top managers come from overseas or have overseas work experience. Volvo's global president and CEO Jacob was once the head of Volkswagen's North American area, and Shen Hui had previously worked for Fiat. In addition, the production, sales, procurement, finance, and personnel departments have adopted the double vice president system and established two parallel leaders of China, West and West. This large-scale executive "mix and match" is rare in Chinese companies. Some experts analyzed that although Geely Group successfully acquired overseas companies, it lacks experience in managing international automobile brands, and Volvo's overseas teams do not understand China. The market, using this "Chinese-Western combination" approach, can speed up the overall management of Volvo cars. Li Shufu also said: "This will be more conducive to the two sides communication and cultural integration."