Filed under: Sedan, China, Plants/Manufacturing, Volvo, Luxury
Volvo is furthering its deep ties in China by announcing a major expansion to its factory in Daqing that will equip the site to build its future S90 sedan. The automaker is promising to make the plant, "one of the most advanced car making facilities in China," according to its press release. Unfortunately, the company isn't specifying the amount being invested or how long the work will take.
Because the northeastern Chinese city of Daqing owns about 37 percent of the automaker, the location for the significant expansion isn't entirely surprising, especially since Geely owns a majority stake in the Swedish brand. The existing factory there employs about 700 people to build the original XC90 for the local market, but the upgrades will allow the plant to handle Volvo's Scalable Product Architecture modular platform.
To be fair, Volvo doesn't specifically call out the S80-replacing S90 by name in its announcement. However, it promises the first vehicle built in Daqing after the expansion will be a new premium sedan, and the upgrades will allow the plant to make "most innovative vehicles in its product range," and the range-topping sedan is widely expected to adopt the S90 moniker.
"We are fully committed to the growth of our business in China, our second home market," Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo Cars' President and Chief Executive, in its announcement. With over 80,000 estimated sales in China this year, the market is now the automaker's single largest worldwide.
The S90 is part of Volvo's realignment of its naming scheme to its 40, 60 and 90 series, with plans for a sedan, wagon and crossover for each of them. Styling is still a mystery, but the V90 is rumored to take cues from the handsome Concept Estate. Hopefully, some of that fantastic design rubs off on the four-door, too. Scroll down to read the company's full announcement for the expansion.
Continue reading Volvo to build range-topping S90 sedan in China
Volvo to build range-topping S90 sedan in China originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 13 Nov 2014 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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