Feature: More independent with brighter future after Chinese takeover: Volvo Ghent

After a Chinese takeover in 2010, the Volvo plant in Ghent felt it had entered a new era wherein it could develop its own future and become more independent in making decisions, Volvo managers told Xinhua recently.

"We have never been as independent as we are now," Eric Van Landeghem, the managing director of Volvo Cars Ghent said. "In the past we were a department of a big organization, but after 2010, under Chinese ownership, we are now a car company and we can make decisions more independently."

"We saw production increase from 2010, and the number of employees has also grown. We also saw the atmosphere improve again," said Mark De Mey, the public relations manager of Volvo's Ghent plant.

"It's a big change, because after the takeover by Geely, there was a new focus on creating value, a big difference from merely keeping costs down. We saw we could invest in new product again. That's really a very different and positive game," De Mey said.

NO CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS MODELS

De Mey told Xinhua that though it's been about five years since the takeover, there have been natural changes in the management, but the management and business models remain the same.

"Volvo is still an international company with its headquarters in Sweden. Though we are owned by the Chinese, but when comes to the brand image and brand values, it's very much Swedish," De Mey said.

While some car companies are closing plants or laying off workers, Volvo was not concerned about experiencing similar phenomena, according to De Mey. In fact, the company has designs to grow from the current volume of 400,000 cars to 800,000 cars, with 200,000 cars to be sold in China.

As for the challenges in the future, De Mey said there would be big changes in the coming years when the Ghent plant shifts from the current models to a new range of cars on a new platform. As of 2019, only the successor of the small models will be built in Ghent.

"It's a big challenge to change the whole system and build the new platform. That is we are now preparing and the major investment in the future. We are now starting to rebuild our production process," De Mey said.

CHINA SURPASSES AMERICA AS VOLVO'S BIGGEST OVERSEAS MARKET

This time one year ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping, accompanied by King Philippe of Belgium, unveiled together the 300,000th car to be exported to China at the Volvo's Ghent location.

De Mey said of Xi's visit, "of course it is a great honor for Volvo as a whole, and especially for Volvo Ghent, that the Chinese president came here. It was the only plant that he visited in Belgium. That meant that Volvo cars was important to him."

"We saw the sales of Volvo in China were very strong, because China is a growing market in general," he said.

According to the sales figures of 2014, China has surpassed the United States to become the number one market for Volvo Cars Ghent: 35,669 cars, or 13.5 percent of production, were destined for export to China.

The United States, the top market for Volvo Cars Ghent for years, now clocks out at 23,992 cars (9.0 percent).

One of the company's strategies was to expand its presence in the Chinese market, according to De Mey.

The Ghent plant is Volvo's largest automobile assembly plant outside Sweden, employing over 5,000 people. Endit