Volvo aims to sell 12,000 vehicles in S. Korea this year

Volvo Cars Korea said Tuesday it aims to sell 12,000 vehicles this year on higher demand for its SUVs.

The 2020 sales target is 14 percent higher than the carmaker's sales of 10,570 vehicles last year, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.

Volvo's three best-selling models were the midsize XC60 SUV, the compact XC40 SUV and the S90 upper midsize sedan in 2019, driving up the annual sales result, the KAIDA data showed.

The midsize S60 sedan and the V60 Cross Country crossover wagon launched late last year also helped the results, the data showed.

Volvo established a business entity in Korea in 1998, and Volvo Cars Korea is wholly owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding of China.

Volvo had a stellar performance compared with its bigger rivals, including BMW, Volkswagen and Toyota Motors Corp., in the Korean passenger vehicle market in 2019.

Imported vehicle sales fell 6.1 percent to 244,780 autos last year from the previous year's 260,705 as Japanese brands struggled with a boycott amid trade tensions between Seoul and Tokyo since July last year. (Yonhap)