Volvo, Geely Developing Another Small-Car Platform

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and its Volvo Cars unit are co-developing a small-car chassis that Geely will use to enter the global auto market, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Design and engineering work on the new modular platform is being conducted in Sweden by China Euro Vehicle Technology AB, a unit set up by Geely after it acquired Volvo in 2010.

Both companies are already co-developing a modular platform for a family of larger C-segment cars that each will market under its own brand. The first of those models, all of which are being engineered to global performance standards, is due in about two years.

The new platform, due in about 2017, will be used exclusively by Geely to carry an array of models with the quality, safety and technology content to compete in such markets as Europe and the U.S. The cars will vie with such models as the Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit and Volkswagen Polo, according to the Journal.

China Euro Vehicle Technology CEO Mats Fagerhag tell the Journal that the Geely platform will debut in China, Latin America and the Middle East.