Volvo Looks for a Production Partner in N. America

Volvo Car Corp. CEO Stefan Jacoby tells Bloomberg News the company wants to find a partner to begin sharing vehicle production in North America five or six years from now.

Last year Volvo sold 67,200 cars and crossovers in the U.S., up nearly 25% from its volume in 2010. But sales this year fell 6% in the first five months.

Jacoby tells Bloomberg that Volvo is unlikely to build its own plant. He says he is in talks with a few carmakers and would welcome discussions with any potential partner. He says Fiat SpA, which controls Chrysler Group LLC, is an "obvious" alternative.

Volvo, which was acquired two years ago by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., aims to achieve global sales of 800,000 units by 2020. The company sold 449,300 vehicles last year.

Volvo hopes to generate 25% of those future sales in China. The company previously announced its intent to spend $11 billion by 2016 on product development and capacity expansion there. The plan includes an engine plant near Beijing and assembly plants in Chengdu (to open next year) and Daqing (opening in 2015). The company awaits government approvals for all three projects.