Volvo Cars cuts S80 prices in China

SHANGHAI, June 11, 2007; Reuters reported that Volvo Cars, said on Monday it has cut the prices on some imported premier Volvo S80 sedans by as much as 11 percent to help push sales.

The S80 2.5T model now sells for 558,000 yuan ($72,690), down from 628,000 yuan, while the S80 3.2L was cut to 668,000 yuan from 698,000 yuan. Prices for the 4.4L model remained unchanged at 895,000 yuan, it said in a statement.

Volvo Cars started exporting its flagship S80 models to China last October to compete with BMW, Volkswagen AG's Audi and other premium brands.

Volvo Cars' overall China sales jumped 50 percent last year to more than 7,000 units, with growth in the first quarter hitting 61 percent, it said.

Volvo Cars, which also sells the Volvo C70, S40 and XC90 models in China, did not give a sales projection for 2007, but said it hoped the price adjustments would help it to grab a larger share in the country's luxury car market.