Volvo says it has no immediate plans for IPO

STOCKHOLM -- Volvo Cars says it has no immediate plans for an initial public offering after a newspaper reported today that the automaker was considering a listing next year.

Swedish business daily Dagens Industri, citing unnamed sources, said that Volvo and its Chinese owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. could decide this year on whether to go public in 2017.

"We have no immediate plans for an IPO. This is a question for our owner," a Volvo spokesman told Reuters.

A spokesman for Zhejiang Geely said the company currently had no plans for an initial public offering of the Swedish automaker.

Rising sales and profits at Volvo have led to speculation of a stock market listing over the past year, although 2017 would be earlier than many have thought.

Volvo, bought by Zhejiang Geely from Ford Motor in 2010, is targeting a boost in sales to 800,000 cars in the medium term on the back of a string of new, more upmarket models.

Volvo sold 473,528 cars in the first 11 months, up 7 percent year-on-year, helped by strong demand for its XC90 SUV, the first new model developed under Geely ownership. Volvo is poised for its third straight year of record sales.

The automaker also returned to international bond markets earlier this year, with its first corporate bond raising 500 million euros ($533 million), followed by its first Swedish bond issue last month.