Chinese owner of Volvo and London Taxi Company plans European and US entry with small car

Chinese carmaker Geely is planning to enter the European and US markets with a small crossover utility vehicle, which will be produced using a common platform jointly developed with Volvo.

Reuters, citing two sources, reported that the car, which is yet to be named, will be sold in China in early 2017, in several European markets a year or so later and eventually in the US.

The company will start producing the vehicle from late 2016, and it will be the first car to be built using the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) and engine technology that Geely has developed with Volvo Cars.

Geely bought Volvo from Ford Motor about five years ago, as the Swedish automaker struggled from the economic weakness in Europe. Geely's cooperation with Volvo comes as Geely chairman Li Shufu looks to turn around the loss-making European brand.

"With the CMA car, Li wants to tell the world we're ready for the big time. We're ready to break into Europe and the US," one of the sources told Reuters.

Geely is also building a new assembly plant in eastern China, which will eventually have the capacity to produce 150,000 CMA-based vehicles a year for both Geely and Volvo, the news agency added.

The company, which also owns London Taxi Company, earlier announced that it will invest £250m (€347m, $372m) to build a new assembly facility for the black cab maker in the Ansty area of Coventry. London Taxi Company is currently preparing for the introduction of the next generation London Black Cab.