
Volvo said the parties will evaluate China Development Bank's financing of Volvo Car.
Volvo Car Corporation and China Development Bank Corporation today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a “strategic partnership.” The announcement came as Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of the People’s Republic of China visited the Volvo Car Corporation facilities in Gothenburg, Sweden. Earlier this week the communist leader was in Wolfsburg to announce a further expansion of Volkswagen Group manufacturing in China. (Volkswagen Group To Build New Plant in Urumqi China)
In 2011, Volvo sold 449,000 vehicles globally, not enough to finance internally new platforms and or plants, both of which the Chinese-owned company needs to survive in the global auto business. The growth plan for the Chinese market is vital to the 2020 global sales target of 800,000. Volvo Car has slowly returned to profitability with a profit of 477 MSEK in the first nine months of 2011, the latest results.
In a release, Volvo said the parties will evaluate a possible cooperation with China Development Bank’s financing of Volvo Car Corporation research and development programs in “efficient energy technology, as well as production facilities” in China.
“It will assist us in realizing our ambitious growth plans for the Chinese market and enhance our ability to develop clean, efficient driveline technologies,” said Stefan Jacoby, CEO & President of Volvo Car.
Jacoby said, the main purpose of the intended is to safeguard Volvo’s long-term competitiveness in the global automotive market and to develop and intensify cooperation within the Sino-Swedish automotive industry.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.