Volvo's China sales increase one fifth over last year

Volvo Car Group, owned by China’s Geely Holding Group, announced they sold a total of 10,442 vehicles in China last month, up 20.2 percent year on year, according to a statement from the company.

The company said rising sales in April were led by strong customer demand for their locally produced XC60 sport-utility vehicle and S90 sedan.

Volvo said that sales in the first four months of this year totaled 39,210 units, an increase of 22.4 percent from the same period in 2017. Volvo's sales in China accounted for 19.7 percent of global sales. 

The company sold 200,042 vehicles from January to April globally, up 13.6 percent year on year.

China is the largest market for Volvo Car Group, representing about 20 percent of total sales last year, followed by the United States (14%), Sweden (13%), the United Kingdom (8%) and Germany (7%).

Volvo Cars formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely.