Geely unveils big plans for Volvo

The head of China's Geely has unveiled ambitious plans for the future of Volvo Cars, looking to nearly double global sales by pushing the Swedish brand in China, the world's largest auto market.

The Chinese carmaker completed the purchase of the struggling Volvo from U.S. auto giant Ford last month, and now chairman Li Shufu is looking to cash in on his investment by selling up to 300,000 cars a year in China alone.

"Our challenge is to get Volvo out of trouble," Li said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

"From my perspective, Volvo's product is already in very good demand and the company is profitable," he said. "Our real challenge is how we are going to evolve and develop the Volvo brand further."

Geely paid 1.5 billion dollars for Volvo, and said last month it also would invest a total of 900 million dollars in the brand, known for its sturdy, family-friendly vehicles.

Li said he hopes to build three Volvo assembly plants in China that would produce up to 300,000 autos a year -- all to be sold in the Asian nation.