Brazil Is Volvo Cars' Fastest Growing Market Worldwide

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Cover Story By Laura Reid
Brazil is Volvo Cars’ fastest
growing market in the world
“BRAZIL & SWEDEN/NORWAY” RECENTLY INTER-
VIEWED ANDERS NORINDER, PRESIDENT OF
VOLVO CARS FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE
CARIBBEAN. NORINDER WAS RECENTLY ELECTED
A MEMBER OF BOTH THE CHAMBER’S BOARD
OF DIRECTORS AND NEWLY ESTABLISHED ADVI-
SORY BOARD. HE IS VERY POSITIVE ABOUT THE
OUTLOOK OF VOLVO CARS’ SALES IN BRAZIL,
WHICH IS THE COMPANY’S FASTEST GROWING
MARKET IN THE WORLD.
JUNE - AUGUST 2010
Norinder , 42, is from Gothenburg, where Volvo Cars was originally founded
in 1927 as a spin-off of ball-bearing maker SKF. It was not until 1935, when
AB Volvo was introduced on the Swedish stock exchange, that SKF sold most of
the shares in the company. Volvo Cars, which has been operating in Brazil since
1991, was owned by AB Volvo until 1999, when it was acquired by the Ford Motor
Company and placed in its Premier Automotive Group—which then included
the Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover brands. In March this year, Zhejiang
Geely Holding Group, China’s largest privately-run car manufacturer, agreed to
buy Ford Motor’s Volvo car unit for US$ 1.8 billion, the country’s largest overseas
auto acquisition.
Geely Chairman Li Shufu stated that Volvo Cars would remain a separate company
with its own management team based in Gothenburg. He said it was important
that Volvo stayed close to key suppliers. The deal is expected to be closed
in the third quarter.