Lars Danielson has a long history within Volvo Cars and filled several senior positions. Most recently, he was vice president China operations within manufacturing and in this role he was responsible for developing and establishing Volvo Cars' manufacturing footprint in China.

His appointment comes in advance of the opening of Volvo Cars’ first Chinese manufacturing plant in the city of Chengdu this summer.

Volvo launched its China growth plan in 2010 and says it will ensure that the local Chinese sales and marketing team has the necessary support from the group to reach the next level of its growth plan in terms of sales and brand building.

For this purpose, Doug Speck will in his role as senior vice president marketing, sales and customer service take a renewed strategic responsibility to secure that China sales and marketing deliverables are well coordinated and executed.

‘China plays a critical role in the transformation of Volvo Cars and the realisation of our long-term strategy and business plan depends on us succeeding in China,’ said Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars.

He added: ‘Lars Danielson has many years of valuable experience within Volvo Cars and he has successfully led the establishment of our manufacturing plant in Chengdu. I am confident that Lars, together with a dedicated team, will deliver on the next phase of our China growth plan.’