Volvo Car Group said Thursday that its operating profit rose 17.5 percent last year thanks to record sales in Europe and China.
The Gothenburg-based company said operating earnings rose to 2.25 billion SEK (268 million U.S. dollars) from 1.92 billion SEK in the previous year.
The all-time sales record of 465,866 cars represented an increase of 8.9 percent compared to 427,840 in 2013, and was supported by strong performances in China and Europe.
In China, the company's largest market, Volvo Cars sold over 80,000 cars. In Europe, Volvo grew twice as fast as the overall market and all of its main competitors in the region.
The record sales have cleared the way for the company to continue investing in its global transformation, the company said.
