Volvo China's director of sales resigns

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai June 30) - Volvo China's Director of Sales Bart Smits has officially left the company today, auto.163.com reported, quoting an unnamed source. Mr. Smits successor has yet to be named.

Mr. Smits (pictured) came to Volvo in 1992, where he worked in design and marketing. He also previously undertook service support for the Dutch market, as well as quality control and technology development training for Volvo's European sales network. In 2002 he began working with marketing the S40 sedan and C70 coupé in the continent, before he came to China in 2007.

After joing Volvo China, Mr. Smits participated in projects involving product marketing, pricing and manufacturing. His role was reportedly to help bring Scandinavian design and luxury to Chinese consumers.

Volvo sold 374,000 vehicles globally last year, growing 11 percent from 2009. The company grew once again in quarter one of this year, selling 106,800 vehicles. The manufacturer has seen its Chinese sales volume increase 10.5 percent last quarter.