Skip to main content

Volvo bullish in Asian market

The manufacturer Volvo Construction Equipment has major growth plans for its presence in Asia and China in particular.
February 29, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The manufacturer 2394 Volvo Construction Equipment has major growth plans for its presence in Asia and China in particular. The firm has revealed a package of initiatives destined to expand its operations and increase its customer base in Asia. The Asian market, and China in particular, is of immense importance to Volvo Construction Equipment and the firm saw revenues in the region double during 2010. This made Asia Volvo Construction Equipment's most important sales area.

This information was revealed during a speech by the firm's new CEO Pat Olney. He said that as the present policies followed by the firm in Asia have proven successful, there will be no departure from the existing growth strategy for the continent. Olney said, "Volvo is well positioned, both in China and the rest of Asia, to capitalise on the huge market opportunity and growth potential. Our dual brand approach (Volvo and SDLG) offers a unique advantage to meet the needs of a much wider customer base. We will support this approach with products dedicated to this market, using local Chinese knowledge and leveraging an expanded Asian manufacturing and distribution footprint." The company has continued to invest in Asia in recent years.

The company recently announced the introduction of its new Volvo F-Series articulated haulers, G-Series wheel loaders and a China localised EC200B crawler excavator. These come on top of a four model range of China-specific excavators - made and marketed by Volvo's joint venture partner in China, Lingong, under the SDLG brand. In terms of design and manufacturing, investments in China include the establishment of a US$30 million Volvo Technology Centre in Jinan and an $88 million expansion and investment of the company's Linyi facilities. This comes on top of the $30 million investments made in the Volvo excavator facility in Shanghai since 2003. These initiatives are joined by an ambitious programme to expand the company's distribution network in China. "Volvo is committed to supporting the capacity, distribution and product offering in China and throughout Asia," said Olney. "We will achieve this by a comprehensive programme of investments in our Asian industrial operations, a strengthening of our dealer network and an expansion of Volvo and SDLG branded products that are more closely tailored to the specific needs of customers in this region."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Volvo CE is further developing its presence in road construction
    October 3, 2014
    The road business has benefited from fairly constant levels of trading in recent years and even during the downturn, construction operations only fell by a comparatively small quantity during the downturn. Darren Fitch, director for road machinery for the EMEA region within Volvo CE said, “The road construction sector has been far less cyclical than other construction markets.” The global market for road machinery is healthy at present and he said, “We’re having a good year.”
  • Key advances in asphalt compaction technology
    February 18, 2013
    A wide range of new models is being introduced for the asphalt equipment compaction market – Mike Woof reports. The asphalt compaction equipment market is seeing the introduction of new machines from an array of major manufacturers. Manufacturers have introduced both steel drum and rubber tyred rollers to meet customer demands in specific markets as well as globally, and have also developed innovative new compaction practices. Competition in the asphalt compaction market is increasingly tough, with many of
  • Volvo CE sees slide in Chinese sales but growth in developed markets
    July 18, 2014
    Volvo Construction Equipment has seen sales in China fall, while its performance in the developed markets of North America and Europe has improved. The company has seen sales drop 9% for its second quarter results as improvements in North America and Europe fail to compensate for weak demand from China. The 25% improvement in North America and 11% improvement in Europe, compared to the same period in the year before, has been a cause for optimism. Net sales in the second quarter fell 9% to US$2.144 billion
  • Volvo CE sales up 10% in Q1 2014
    April 25, 2014
    Volvo Construction Equipment says growth in mature markets is the biggest contribution to its 10% sales increase in the first quarter of 2014, compared to the same three months of last year. The first three months of this year saw improved earnings on the back of increased sales, deliveries and order intake. The period also saw the launch of a new range of Volvo CE Tier 4 Final/Stage IV compliant models.