After hitting an all-time high in sales last year, Volvo Cars Korea is aiming for another record-breaking year, with a plan to sell 15,000 vehicles.

To achieve that goal, it plans to invest 50 billion won to augment service networks and hire more staff.

According to the automaker, it sold a total of 12,798 units in Korea last year which was its best performance since establishing a presence here in 1998. The figure was an increase of 21 percent from the year before.

This year, the automaker has set a goal of 15,000 unit sales, or an on-year growth rate of 17 percent, as it plans to roll out new models equipped with environment-friendly powertrains.

Volvo Cars Korea was the first among the global Volvo affiliates to announce they would sell only hybrid cars from 2021 onwards, ditching pure gasoline or diesel models.

The company is slated to present their mild hybrid powertrain models for XC90 and XC60 within the first quarter. Its pure electric vehicle XC40 Recharge is also scheduled for release in the Korean market.

The company will spend 50 billion won to reinforce its sales and service networks, opening new service centers and showrooms across the country. It will also hire more employees, the automaker said.

“The major drive that allowed Volvo to join the 10,000-unit club for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020 is because of an increasing number of people who agree with our strict philosophy for safety and our vision for the environment,” Volvo Car Korea’s Managing Director Lee Yun-mo said. It is considered a major threshold for foreign car brands here to reach a 10,000 unit sales mark.

Among various Volvo models, XC40 was the most popular with 2,555 units sold, followed by XC60 at 2,539 units and S60 at 2,118 units.

Volvo Cars Korea is wholly owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)