Volvo's EU Car Sales Up 12.3% in 2014, Well Above Total EU Car Sales Growth of 5.7%

By Christina Zander

STOCKHOLM--Swedish auto maker Volvo Cars' sales grew by 12.3% in the Europe Union during 2014, about twice the growth rate seen in the market as a whole, figures from the European Automobile Manufacturer's Association showed Friday.

New car registrations in the European Union were up 5.7% from January to December, after declining for six consecutive years, ACEA said .

The Swedish car maker, owned by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., said strong demand from customers in Sweden, the U.K. and Germany helped the company outpace the market, ahead of rivals like Audi, BMW and Mercedes, whose sales grew by 4.8%, 5.2% and 5.5% respectively.

Volvo, which only sells a fraction of the volume delivered by its three German rivals, is in the midst of an $11 billion, five-year investment plan aimed at beefing up its lineup of cars and SUVs.

The plan, which runs through 2015, includes opening new factories in China, launching new engines and creating new vehicle architecture, or platforms upon which a variety of vehicles can be built. Last year, the company launched the first car built on its new vehicle platform, the XC90.

Volvo sold a total of 466,000 cars globally in 2014.

By Christina Zander at [e-mail]

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