Volvo Cars Names New Chief for Americas

Volvo Car Group has named Lex Kerssemakers to revive U.S. sales as head of its operations in the Americas, effective immediately.

Kerssemakers had been in charge of the company's $11 billion product overhaul. His immediate assignment will be to shepherd plans for a Volvo assembly plant in North America, sources tell the Financial Times.

They say Volvo has approached several southern states about incentives for such a facility. The company declines to comment.

Kerssemakers also will be tasked to revive the Swedish company's sagging sales in the U.S. The American market was the brand's largest a decade ago when Ford Motor Co. owned the company. But a lack of new product caused sales to plunge from 123,600 in 2005 to only 56,400 last year.

Volvo, which was acquired by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Ltd. in 2010, aims to restore U.S. annual sales to 100,000 units by 2018.