Volvo’s boost for Jiading economy

Ran Tao and Zhu Jing

The launch of the Volvo Car China R&D Center in Jiading on September 9 also marked the establishment of its Asia-Pacific headquarters.

The center will help maintain Volvo’s strength in energy saving and safety while further improving its core competitiveness in its product line, according to the company.

It will also support Jiading’s industrial transformation and boost the regional economy. In return, the district will strive to provide a better environment for the company to grow and expand, Jiading government officials said.

Volvo said its research and development centers in Sweden and China will share resources.

Established in 2011 in Jiading, Volvo Group China has recruited an international R&D team of more than 500 experts.

With an investment of 1.7 billion yuan (US$267 million), the new Volvo regional headquarters will cover an area of 20 hectares and include an office building, car museum and design center.

It will be the automaker’s hub of sales, R&D, purchasing and production for the Asia-Pacific region.

Ma Chunlei, Party secretary of Jiading, said the district will play an important role in Shanghai’s aim of becoming a global technology innovation center.

Ma said the district will continue to boost high-end manufacturing with a focus on the auto industry, develop the high technology sector and production service sector, and nurture a high quality lifestyle service sector.

Jiading has maintained a stable healthy development in recent years.

In the first seven months, the total output value of above-scale industrial enterprises reached 300 billion yuan with 218.8 billion yuan from the auto sector, or 74 percent of the total.

The district boasts 236 auto parts manufacturers, 29 auto companies on the Fortune Global 500 and around 70 auto R&D centers.