Report: Volvo's new chairman wants 7-Series, S-Class rival
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/sedans/" rel="tag">Sedan</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/china/" rel="tag">China</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/volvo/" rel="tag">Volvo</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/geely/" rel="tag">Geely</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/luxury/" rel="tag">Luxury</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-volvo-s60/"><img vspace="4" hspace="0" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/08/01-s60-630.jpg" /></a>
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><sma ll>2011 Volvo S60 - Click above for high-res image gallery</small></strong></em></div>
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<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/geely/">Geely</a> isn't wasting any time in shaping up its newest acquisition's product line. The Chinese automaker officially <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/02/ford-officially-sells-volvo-to-geely-for-1-8b/">completed its deal</a> to purchase <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/volvo/">Volvo</a> from <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/ford/">Ford</a> earlier this week, and already the Swedish brand's new chairman is making noises about a new large luxury sedan to go toe to toe with the likes of the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/7+series">BMW 7 Series</a> and <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/s-class">Mercedes-Benz S-Class</a>. Li Shufu, Volvo chairman and co-chair of Geely, said that the brand already competes with luxury German carmakers in most markets, but lacks all of the hardware to do so effectively. To remedy the problem, Li wants to put the rush on a new saloon to take the fight to the Bavarians. <br />
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According to the <em>Financial Times</em>, Volvo repeatedly ran into roadblocks when it attempted to develop a large four-door under Ford. Evidently the Blue Oval was concerned about a long-wheelbase Swede nabbing sales from <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/jaguar/">Jaguar</a> - another brand Ford owned at the time. A new Volvo sedan is far from a done deal, though. Li says that the thought of a range-topping sedan is his, and he'll have to convince the company's new board to give it the green light. With an ambitious goal to double Volvo to 600,000 units in five years primarily through growth in large-car loving China, a D-segment player sounds like a good bet - at least for select markets.<br />
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<div class="postgallery"><p><s trong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-volvo-s60">2011 Volvo S60</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-volvo-s60/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/03-2011-volvo-s60_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-volvo-s60/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/05-2011-volvo-s60_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-volvo-s60/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/04-2011-volvo-s60_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-volvo-s60/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/02-2011-volvo-s60_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-volvo-s60/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/01-2011-volvo-s60_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
[Source: <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/90ef46f0-9e5f-11df-a5a4-00144feab49a.html">Financ ial Times</a> - reg. req.]<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/04/report-volvos-new-chairman-wants-7-series-s-class-rival/">Report: Volvo's new chairman wants 7-Series, S-Class rival</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/04/report-volvos-new-chairman-wants-7-series-s-class-rival/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19580729/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/04/report-volvos-new-chairman-wants-7-series-s-class-rival/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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