I believe a developed city is not a city where the poor have a chance to buy a car but the rich are using the public transportation

Said : Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO of Volvo Group in an interview with China Daily.

Swedish automobile conglomerate Volvo's CEO sees 'super opportunity' in China's e-commerce boom. He has been a believer of a fun workplace during his 24-year career in the commercial vehicle industry. Martin was unfazed despite the current downward pressure in China's economic growth. "We've a very thrilling vision about the future, for we are seeing very positive changes," he said in the interview.

Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO of Volvo Group. [Photo provided to China Daily]

According to Martin, the government's growing emphasis on green initiatives, sustainable development and innovation are all bringing great opportunities for his company. In China for more than 20 years, the manufacturer of vehicles, engines and construction equipment now hopes to better tap into the country's booming e-commerce business. 

For reading the edited excerpts from the interview, please click here.

Timothy Wingerter

According to Timothy Wingerter, who works at Quora, Volvo Cars, which has a global market share of only 1–2%, has been separate from its former Swedish parent company Volvo Group since 1999, and is now owned by a Chinese company. "Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010. Volvo Cars formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely Holding," he wrote on Quora.

Volvo Cars still has manufacturing facilities in Sweden and several other locations, including China. "Apart from the main car production plants in Gothenburg (Sweden) and Ghent (Belgium), Volvo Cars has since the 1930s manufactured engines in Skövde (Sweden). Production of body components has been located in Olofström (Sweden) since 1969. The company furthermore operates an assembly plant in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and a research and development center in Copenhagen (Denmark). Finally, Volvo has design centers in Gothenburg (Sweden), Camarillo (USA) and Shanghai (China)", he added.

In the fourth quarter of 2013, Volvo Cars started serial production at its manufacturing plant in Chengdu, China. This plant produces Volvo cars for the Chinese and US markets. A second manufacturing plant in Daqing, China started production in the second half of 2014, while Volvo Cars also has an engine factory in Zhangjiakou, China. In the US, Volvo Cars is building a manufacturing facility in Berkeley County, South Carolina, which will become operational in the second half of 2018. This is Volvo Car Group.

Volvo Group (responsible for several operations including Mack Trucks, Volvo construction equipment, etc.) is a worldwide company, and is still Swedish.

At present there's only one Chinese-made car you can buy in the US.