China, Europe boost October sales of Volvo Cars

[STOCKHOLM] Chinese-owned automaker Volvo Car Group said on Monday sales of its cars rose 12.6 per cent in October from the same month a year ago, logging a fourth straight month of growth on the back of strong demand in China and Europe.

The Sweden-based company sold 40,680 cars in the month as sales expanded 36 per cent in China and 12.1 per cent in Europe.

Year-to-date, sales were up 9.5 per cent at 379,880 vehicles. "China, Volvo Cars' largest market, reported October sales of 6,917 cars...and the accumulated sales result for the first ten months of the year has already passed the full-year result for 2013," the company said in a statement.

Volvo is banking on strong growth in China, the home of its parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co, to double sales to 800,000 cars by 2020 and gain economies of scale to compete with luxury brands such as BMW, Daimler's Mercedes and Volkswagen's Audi.

The company, which ran a loss in the first half of the year, said the UK led growth in Europe while sales also expanded in the United States after a sharp decline the previous month.

REUTERS