The U.S. could be about to get another Volvo model, and this one will not be born in the land of moose, breakfast herring and aquavit, but rather, in China.
According a report in Reuters, a Volvo executive speaking on the condition of anonymity said that the China-built, long-wheelbase S60L, would be imported to the U.S. as soon as the end of next year. We could get up to 10,000 per year if all goes as planned, according to the source. Long-wheelbase luxury mid-sizers such as the BMW 535Li and the Audi A6L are popular in China as livery cars, but seldom are they exported to other markets. We’re not sure who, if anyone, in the U.S. actually asked for the S60L, but apparently it’s coming.
Clearly, the S60L is the tip of the spear, as currency fluctuations between the euro and dollar are being cited as one of the reasons Volvo is pushing to export China-built cars to America. “The dollar and the yuan have the best relationship, a more stable relationship than the euro and the dollar,” the Reuters source said.
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The elephant in the back of the room, of course, is the matter of quality. Today, Chinese-built smartphones, televisions and other electronic gear are in the mainstream, but will Americans pony up the coin for a Chinese-built Swedish car? Volvo and its parent company Geely could be using the S60L, which we saw in plug-in hybrid form at this year’s Beijing auto show, as a low-consequence test of its mettle when it comes to exporting China-built cars to the U.S.
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