Made-in-China Volvo hits the market

Four years after being acquired by Geely, Volvo is starting to show progress

The Swedish carmaker has released its new China-made Volvo XC60 for the Chinese market. The SUV is competitively priced between 366,900 to 539,900 yuan  ($59,800 to $88,000 pitting it against Audi’s Q5 and Mercedes-Benz’s GLK, also made in China.

The XC60 was preceded by the S60L last December and the XC Classic, which was launched in September this year. The XC60 is manufactured in a Geely-built factory in north east China’s Daqing.

Each XC60 comes with either a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder petrol T5 engine (six or eight speed automatic or a mighty 2.5L turbocharged five-in-line T6, which is only available in the Chinese market.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Corporation paid $1.3bn in cash for the struggling Swedish manufacturer in 2010 with a view to competing with German brands for the luxury sedan and SUV segments. However, it has been slow to begin production despite a $900m capital injection paid on top of the $1.3bn cash payment.

The company also released its first Chinese-made model into the European market - the all-new XC-90 - with the top-of-the-range option offering a hybrid-engine that pumps out 400bhp.