CHENGDU, China — On the verge of exporting the first “Made in China” cars to the United States, Volvo is determined to show they are as good as vehicles it produces in Europe.

In contrast to its European factories that check a few completed cars from each batch, every vehicle that rolls off Volvo’s 3-year-old assembly line in this southwest China city goes through a five-hour battery of tests on a driving track. Once a month, or three times as often as in Europe, Volvo tears apart a finished car in Chengdu to examine the quality of welds and other work.

The effort to persuade Americans to buy a premium car from China is a new step up in Volvo Car Corp.’s campaign to establish itself as a global luxury brand following its 2010 acquisition by Chinese automaker Geely.

“I have heard no customer ask me where his car is built. It is built by Volvo and is Volvo quality, and of course Chengdu will be exactly the same,” said CEO Hakan Samuelsson. “I am quite confident that we will demonstrate that.”

In June, the first U.S.-bound S60 Inscriptions are to be shipped down the Yangtze River to Shanghai, then across the Pacific to the United States. Volvo expects to send about 5,000 per year to the U.S., according to Samuelsson. He said Volvo has no plans to “massively export” but, since that model will be produced only in China, will send a few to add to its U.S. lineup.


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