Volvo sees opportunity in China's poverty alleviation, e-commerce boom

GUANGZHOU - As China pledges to lift more people out of poverty and puts more resources in less developed inland areas, Volvo Group sees opportunities in the country.

The Swedish company, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and construction equipment, has been active in the Chinese mainland for 25 years.

"It's amazing to see the extraordinary development in this country in the past fifteen years," said Claes Svedberg, president of Volvo China Investment Company.

"China is now pushing the better distribution of wealth among people and the development of its inland," said Svedberg, adding that China's emphasis on building infrastructure to support development is "very impressive."

China has pledged to eliminate poverty by 2020. In the past five years, over 55 million people have been lifted out of poverty in the country.

Volvo Group now runs three joint ventures in China covering buses, trucks and construction machines. Svedberg told the media that nearly half of the world's total heavy and medium trucks are sold in China, making it an unparalleled market.

Driven by its booming e-commerce industry, China is also moving fast toward professional logistics and leading innovation in short hauls, such as on-road transportation tractors or electrification of medium and light trucks.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the country's online retail transaction value hit 7.18 trillion yuan ($1.14 trillion) in 2017, up 32.2 percent over 2016.

Svedberg made the remarks during a sustainable development forum hosted by the Volvo Group during the weekend in the southern city of Guangzhou, a stopover city for this year's Volvo Ocean Race, a yacht race around the world.