Volvo XC90 to Become New Chinese Flagship
Volvo’s aging XC90 is becoming a hand-me-down to Chinese luxury buyers as the automaker signs it over to its parent company Geely.
While the compact SUV is looking more and more dated in this market, Geely is posed to make it the flagship for a new luxury brand. The car’s P2 platform, which was in use before Ford’s takeover of Volvo, ended up underpinning cars like the Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS.
Now, the same platform will be used as the flagship model for the upcoming brand. There isn’t any word yet on what any other vehicles being part of the transfer which occurred on March 9.
Stateside, the brand updated the XC90 for 2013, saying it was the most significant refresh in the more than decade since its original release. Despite being the most important update yet, a refreshed platform is due out in 2014. More significant than an updated appearance, the new underpinnings will offer Volvo a shot at making the car relevant again.
[Source: China Car Times]
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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I wonder if the Chinese will ever have an original idea... or at least an original idea that doesn't suck.
Friggin commies.