Last weekend was exactly ten years ago when Volvo fell into Chinese hands. The Swedish brand signed the agreement with Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely) in 2010. Time for the interim score.
On March 28, 2010, Volvo and Geely signed the agreement: the Swedish brand says goodbye to the Ford Motor Company and continues on a Chinese footing. “Volvo is stronger today than ever before,” said Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo’s chief executive. The Swedish manufacturer has therefore not been idle since that acquisition. Geely introduces new key points for Volvo: technical independence, a strengthened global brand identity and new corporate governance. The new XC90 is the first result of the new collaboration in 2014. Since then, Volvo’s entire portfolio has been shattered with new SUVs, stations and sedans. This is now all on one of the new self-developed platforms.
That turns out not to be a bad thing, because Volvo has set new sales records time and time again in the past six years. Last year, for the first time in 90 years, Volvo went through the sales limit of 700,000 cars. With its increasing success, the brand’s ego has also grown, as it aims to become the leader in electrification in the near future. By 2025, half of global sales should consist of all-electric cars. “In the future, we will continue to expand our business with Geely,” said Samuelsson.