Volvo Cars breaks annual sales record

Automaker Volvo Cars on Friday announced a sales record for 2015, during which it sold over half a million cars for the first time in its 89-year history.

Volvo moved some 503,000 units in 2015 and said in a statement that its sports utility vehicle (SUV) model XC90 had boosted sales towards the end of the year.

"Now, with a successful 2015 behind us, Volvo is about to enter the second phase of its global transformation," Hakan Samuelsson, Volvo's chairman of the executive board, said in a statement.

"Once completed, Volvo will have ceased being a minor automotive player and taken its position as a truly global premium car company," he added.

Volvo's sales were boosted by a 24-percent year-on-year hike in the United States and a 16-percent surge in Sweden, according to company figures.

The carmaker sold 198,000 units in Western Europe, it's largest market. The XC60 proved its most popular model, accounting for nearly a third of total sales in 2015.

In Friday's statement, the Chinese-owned manufacturer issued a sales target of 800,000 cars annually "in the medium term."

Volvo targeted further expansion in China, where annual sales remained flat in 2015, and said it sought to double its market share in Europe.

Acquired by Geely in 2010, Volvo Cars posted a 2.3-billion-SEK (269 million U.S. dollars) profit in 2014. Endit