The first China-made vehicle to be officially sold in the United States is the Volvo S60 Inscription, a long-wheelbase version of the S60 sedan that is known as the S60 L in China.
Geely-owned Volvo has started exporting S60 sedans made in China to the US last week, as part of the company’s plan to expand sales and market share globally.
Built at Volvo’s plant in the southwest China city of Chengdu, the models are transported to Shanghai and then shipped by boat to the United States.
Volvo says the first China-made Volvo S60s will arrive in US dealerships in about two months. However, the company did not offer details on how many vehicles it aims to export.
The wheelbase of the Volvo S60 Inscription is 3.2-inch (81-mm) longer than that of the standard S60. Volvo didn’t offer details about the engine lineup for the US, but in China the Volvo S60 L is offered with two turbocharged five-cylinder gasoline engines, a 180hp 2.0-liter and a 213hp 2.0-liter T5.
Volvo’s Chinese exports to the United States will help increase global annual sales to 800,000 vehicles by 2020, up from 465,866 in 2014. In the medium term, the company expects to boost deliveries in China to 200,000 units.
The automaker currently has two plants in China, in Chengdu and Daqing. While the former facility builds the S60 L sedan and XC60 crossover, the latter manufactures the XC Classic, which is the previous generation of the XC90 SUV.