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US could get Chinese Volvos soon, possibly Geely joint-venture subcompact?

After a little more than three years since Volvo was acquired by China's Geely, it was only a matter of time before products from this marriage started to show up in the US. Although nothing seems to be written in stone, Automotive News is reporting that the US could be getting Chinese-made Volvos sooner rather than later.
In speaking with AN, Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said that Chinese Volvos could be exported to the US "fairly quickly," and while there was no word on any specific models being considered, the article points out that the S60 (shown above) is already being produced locally in China at a Volvo plant. Another possibility is the next-gen V40, which has reportedly received plenty of support from US Volvo dealers. Regardless of which model it is, Samuelsson doesn't seem too worried about a "Made in China" car receiving a negative reaction by US consumers, pointing to all the other Chinese products sold here.
On a global scale, AN is also reporting that Geely is working on a new subcompact platform co-developed with Volvo to compete against cars like the Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta and VW Polo. There is no word as to whether or not this Geely-branded model would be coming to the US, but just last year, we heard that the Chinese automaker is looking to break into the US market by 2016.

Volvo Cars sees 'tremendous growth' in EVs, CEO says

DAVOS, Switzerland — Volvo Cars remains confident of "tremendous growth" in the electric vehicles market, CEO Jim Rowan told the Reuters Global Markets Forum in Davos on Wednesday, countering gloomier projections from rivals. The carmaker, which aims for electric vehicles (EVs) to contribute half its sales volume by mid-decade and to sell only EVs by 2030, said the growth in demand for its premium brand was stronger than that of mass-market rivals. "We have much more pricing power and people have got more disposable income so they can afford it if they want to drive an EV," Rowan said. The Volvo Cars CEO said that, in contrast to others, he saw good growth globally for electric cars, with particular strong demand in Europe. Over the past year, many automakers have warned that the anticipated growth of EVs has been slow to emerge due to poor demand, heavy price cuts, lower subsidies, and supply chain issues. Volvo has previously said that it has no intention of participating in the Tesla-ignited price war due to its position as a premium brand and saw good margins on its electric cars. Higher costs caused by disruptions on shipping in the Red Sea would also not affect customers, the CEO said, who stated that any additional costs would be absorbed by Volvo. Last week, Volvo said it would halt production at its factory in Belgium for three days as a result of a delivery of gearboxes being delayed due to the disruption. The CEO also told Reuters that he had high ambitions for India in the next five years with plans to launch the more affordable EX30 there in 2025. By the Numbers Green Volvo Electric Future Vehicles

Macron hosts BMW and Volvo execs as they consider moving operations to the U.S.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday will host a dinner with a number of European chief executives to convince them not to move production to the United States, where lower energy prices and the Inflation Reduction Act is proving a lure. European leaders have been alarmed by massive anti-inflation measures passed by Joe Biden's administration, which make tax breaks conditional on U.S-manufactured content and which EU industries say make investment in Europe less competitive. "We're having difficulties with companies which are starting to consider offshoring their production or making future investment outside Europe," a French official said, listing high energy costs and the U.S. legislation as reasons. At the Elysee palace, Macron will seek to convince executives from companies including chemical groups Solvay and Air Liquide, carmakers Volvo and BMW, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and telecom groups Ericsson and Orange to stay in Europe and choose France for their future investments. Macron, who has called on the European Union to launch its own 'European Buy Act' to subsidise European production, has encountered resistance from the more anti-protectionist members of the bloc. It was unclear what Macron would tell the executives to convince them not to move to the U.S. But France has unveiled a number of measures over the weekend to cushion the impact of high energy bills for French companies. European companies have been increasingly strident about the impact of soaring energy prices since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has pushed up gas and electricity prices. Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, who heads the French federation of metals industries, warned in the Les Echos newspaper over the weekend that Europe should protect its own industry more aggressively or see it move to other shores. Related video: Government/Legal Green Plants/Manufacturing BMW Volvo