China will soon become Volvo’s export hub for most global markets, as the Swedish carmaker owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group wants to benefit from the country’s lower labor costs (is anyone surprised?).

Volvo will soon start exporting Chinese-made sedans, including the long-wheelbase S60L (pictured), to the United States, and the XC90 SUV to Russia as early as the end of next year.

Volvo targets exports of about 10,000 S60Ls and a few thousand XC90s each year from China. Last year, the company sold around 62,200 vehicles in the U.S., all made in Europe. Despite consumer concerns about the quality of made-in-China products, Volvo believes it could minimize exchange risks by making China its main production base.

“The dollar and the yuan have the best relationship, a more stable relationship than the euro and the dollar,” an unnamed Volvo executive was quoted as saying by Reuters. He added that Volvo wants to use two assembly plants in China to export to the U.S., Russia, and possibly Southeast Asia.

A Volvo plant in the city of Chengdu began making the S60L sedan late last year, while a second facility is building the XC90 in Daqing. By 2018, the two plants in China will achieve a full capacity of about 250,000 vehicles a year.

Volvo’s global head of media relations David Ibison confirmed that the company would start exports from China, but said timing and target markets had yet to be decided.

American Volvo buyers/fans rejoice - it's what you've been waiting for! As of 2015, you will be able to buy a Volvo-badged car made in China – the S60L (pictured), the long-wheelbase edition of the familiar Swedish sedan.

It’s going to be the first China-made car to be imported into the US, and at least it will be one with a recognizable badge.

Will this sit will with American buyers? We don’t know, but it is something that’s undeniably going to happen, according to Automotive News. The source article quotes Volvo CEO, Hakan Samuelsson, who, at a recent press event, said “we are not talking about 2020. We are talking about next year."

Obviously not a clearly defined time frame, but what is clear from the report is that it’s definitely coming no matter what.

The cars will be built at a new plant in Chengdu, where production is set to be ramped up to 120,000 units per year as of October.

What’s interesting is that Volvo will be merging the particularities and needs of the US and Chinese markets into one single direction designed to please both.

We were also left wondering by the final quoted statement from Samuelsson, who, the source says, was referring to the vehicle that is set to replace the final dinosaur in Volvo’s range, the S80. He said "The next time we present a car you will be surprised. We will take a big step forward in the sedan."

By selling the stretched Volvo S60L in the US, Volvo thinks it can satisfy a market for a plusher S60, while proving Chinese-made cars can be quality products.

Confirming a report by Reuters this summer, senior Volvo marketing exec Alain Visser told Automotive News last week at the Paris Motor Show the S60L would be in US dealers in the second half of 2015. The S60L with its wheelbase 3.2 inches longer than that of the car on which it's based would be cast as an "executive car."

“We believe it can be a key player," Visser told Automotive News, even though Volvo plans to import just 5,000 of the cars for 2015 – roughly a fifth of what the normal S60 sells in the U.S.

But Visser indicates Volvo dealers and customer test groups were enthusiastic about the S60L and its potential for more equipment and comfort, as well as the quality. In fact, another Volvo executive said the S60L scores better in the company's internal quality checks than the S60 that comes off of Volvo's Ghent, Belgium plant.

So if all goes well after the S60L goes on sale in the States next year, you could see more Chinese-made cars in Volvo dealerships.

Besides the S60 Cross Country premium crossover sedan, Volvo’s Detroit Auto Show booth also includes the S60 Inscription long-wheelbase sedan. The latter is said to offer “class-leading rear space,” which is something US customers have consistently requested, according to Volvo.

The Volvo S60 Inscription will be the first model sold in the US imported from China, where it will be built at the company main production facility in Chengdu. Volvo reassures its US customers that the Chinese plant builds cars “in accordance with globally monitored quality standards such as the Volvo Cars Manufacturing System,” which means it complies with the automaker’s global quality engineering, quality audit and quality assurance standards.

Sold as the S60 L in China, the model has a 3.2 inches (81mm) longer wheelbase than that of the standard S60. The S60 Inscription will be exported to the US beginning with the second quarter of this year.

Volvo didn’t offer details about the engine lineup for the US, but in China the Volvo S60 L is offered with two turbocharged five-cylinder gasoline engines, a 180hp 2.0-liter and a 213hp 2.0-liter T5.