Volvo Adds XC60 Into Mix at Chengdu Plant

Volvo Car expands production at its plant in Chengdu, China, to include its XC60 CUV on the back of strong sales growth.

The XC60 is the second model being built in Chengdu after the plant started production of the Volvo S60L long-wheelbase sedan in November 2013.

The expansion sees the plant adding 500 manufacturing jobs, taking the total to 2,650 employees. The plant has an annual production capacity of 120,000 units.

Lars Danielson, senior vice president-Volvo Car China Operations and CEO of Volvo Car China, says the Chengdu plant is on par with Volvo’s European plants.

“Whether it is in terms of quality, installed technology and equipment, working environment and safety or environmental performance, our plant in Chengdu matches Volvo Cars’ global standards and requirements,” Danielson says.

Volvo says XC60 sales rose 20.4% worldwide to 98,309 units in the first nine months of 2014, while sales in China during the period jumped 32.3% to 24,940.

Volvo Car President and CEO Håkan Samuelsson says the start of XC60 production in Chengdu is the latest milestone in Volvo Car’s transformation.

“It will be instrumental in boosting Volvo’s overall growth in what is now our largest market,” he says in a statement.

Volvo also has a plant in Daqing, northeast China, assembling the XC Classic, a locally built variant of the first-generation Volvo XC90 for the Chinese market.

It also has an engine plant in Zhangjiakou, northwest of Beijing, opened in autumn 2013 that supplies engines to Chengdu and Daqing.

Volvo cars are sold at more than 160 dealerships in China.