After its 2010 sale by Ford Motor to Chinese billionaire Li Shufu’s Zhejiang Geely Holding, Volvo engineers worked had to deliver on its USD11 billion investment promise to become a true alternative to the competition from Germany.
Today Volvo is on course to have its 3rd straight year of record-breaking global sales. Its first-quarter operating profit margin jumped to 7.5% from 0 % during the same period of 2015, putting it in 3rd place ahead of Mercedes-Benz which is at 7.1%. In second place is Audi at 9.0% and BMW stays on top at 9.4%.
Better news came with the launch of the all new XC90 SUV which to date has won more than 100 global awards including 2016 North American Truck of the Year. The XC90 also finished just 18 points shy of taking home the 2016 European Car of the Year, an honor that has never gone to an SUV nor has it been awarded to a premium brand. Volvo also beat Mercedes, Jaguar, BMW and Audi to claim the Brand Design Language category at the Car Design Awards ceremony last month.
