First Train Carrying China-Made Volvos Reaches Belgium
Yicai Global
DATE:  Jul 03 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
First Train Carrying China-Made Volvos Reaches Belgium First Train Carrying China-Made Volvos Reaches Belgium

(Yicai Global) July 3 -- A China-Europe Railway freight train carrying 123 new Volvos made in Northeast China arrived in the Belgian Port of Zeebrugge on June 30.

The Volvo S90s completed the 9,832-kilometer journey from Daqing, Heilongjiang province in 20 days. They were the first Chinese made intelligently manufactured luxury cars to reach the European market by rail, marking a new cooperative step for China and Belgium under the Belt and Road framework, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 100 guests, including Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Employment, Economy and Consumer Affairs Kris Peeters, China's Ambassador to Belgium Qu Xing and Party Secretary of Daqing Han Lihua, attended the Arrival Ceremony of First Volvo Block Train at the Port of Zeebrugge.

"We firmly believe that strengthening train connectivity and investing in excellent infrastructural links will be a crucial aspect of Europe's future relations with Asia," Peeters said.

"Belgium has great advantages in carrying out cooperation with China under the framework of the Belt and Road initiative," said Qu, who thinks that the potential of the new train service is tremendous.

The successful opening of the Volvo Block Train will create an important bond between China and Belgium and improve interconnectivity, Han said.

Geely Holding Group [HKG:00175] purchased Volvo Cars for USD1.8 billion in 2010. With the opening of the special train service, Volvo Cars has become the first manufacturer to export China-made luxury cars to Europe under the One Belt, One Road initiative and the company has achieved "intelligent manufacturing," as advocated by the Chinese government, said Yuan Xiaolin, the firm's Asia Pacific president.

The Volvo Block Train departed from Ranghulu Station, Daqing, Heilongjiang province. It left China through the land port of Manzhouli and made its way through Russia, Belarus, Germany and Poland, before arriving at the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium.

It is expected that trains using this route will carry 12,000 Volvos to Europe this year, and bring back production components for the Volvo factory in Daqing as well as finished cars made in Volvo's European factory that will be distributed to North and Northeast China.

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Keywords:   Belgium,Volvo,Auto,B&R