We lived in a farm village, and no one could afford to buy a car or to fly. We were envious. We couldn't afford any toys. I couldn't imagine making a real car.
Volvo has one weakness, and that is in the interior design. They have not adapted to the Chinese people's perception of luxury when it comes to the interior design, and this has to be addressed.
Product investment, quality management, and all the things that are key for a car company - great, there has been no compromise in those aspects. But I feel there's a lot we could do on communication, particularly from a Chinese perspective.
Particularly in China, I think a lot of people start to realise, OK, what are the things that they truly should value? That's something that fits perfectly well with what Volvo is offering.
In this fast-developing world, particularly in the fast-transforming China market, we really need to take this opportunity and offer a modern interpretation of Scandinavian design which fits people's demands perfectly.
In general, what we want to do is to elevate Volvo's brand positioning, and we feel the main lever to achieve that is to develop more higher-tier products.
I believe the auto business is a highly comprehensive and complicated business. It's not that easy for people simply to enter and ruin the whole thing.
Volvo is like a mysterious, beautiful woman. We just look at her from far away, amazed. We don't dare get close to her. We're just a bunch of farm boys.
I believe the auto industry is a competition of human resources, competition of funding, competition of technology - and the competition is international.
