Geely to set up facility in Sweden (2)

"Geely will continue to improve its product quality in the years to come and can learn from Volvo Cars; however, the sharing of knowledge and technology has to be done without jeopardizing brand integrity and individual product development. We believe a stand-alone, yet joint R&D center with a focused approach is the best way to achieve this goal," said Li Shufu, Chairman of Geely Holding Group.

"With Geely as a partner, we secure that Volvo Cars will be in full control of the development of our next generation C-segment cars. We will not have to compromise in a way that is inevitable when partnering with an external OEM," said Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research & Development at Volvo Cars.

Carl-Peter Forster, chief advisor to Geely Holding, will ensure that the development of the modular architecture and set of components will meet the individual brands' specific requirements for different cost and attribute levels.

In parallel, the development of the Volvo Cars architecture for larger segments (SPA) continues within Volvo Cars'own R&D organization. The first SPA vehicle will be launched in 2014.