2011-01-26 08:49

SHANGHAI - Volvo Car Corporation announced Tuesday the establishment of the Volvo Car China Headquarters and an attached technology center in Shanghai.

A separate company, along with a new board of directors, was set up after Chinese automaker Geely Holdings Group Co. Ltd. took over Volvo last August, Volvo chief executive officer Stefan Jacoby said at the opening ceremony.

He said the company has emerged from the global downturn and was profitable in 2010.

He said the move to Shanghai will lay a solid foundation for Volvo's rapid growth in China in the next five years.

He expects the newly-built technology center to work with its headquarters and other research centers to design products catering to Chinese consumers and help the company fit into the local environment.

Freeman Shen, Volvo's senior vice president and Volvo Car China president, said Volvo has been working on building a strong management team in China's business operation since the acquisition and has targeted becoming a leading brand in China's luxury car market by 2015.

The Swedish automaker, Volvo, formerly owned by US auto giant Ford Motor Co., is renowned for its luxury cars. Its sales rose 11.2 percent year on year to 374,000 vehicles in 2010, with sales in China up 36 percent, to exceed 30,000.