Its car sales target for 2014 is around a third higher than the 61,146 cars sold in 2013, while sales in the United States in 2014 are expected to increase only in line with the broader market, it said in a statement on Sunday.

In the first quarter of this year, it sold 17,286 cars in China, up 25.4 percent from a year earlier.

Volvo, whose XC60 SUV is its best-selling model in China, expects the Chinese market to help boost its global sales in coming years, though it faces competition from foreign firms, such as General Motors Co (>> General Motors Company), and domestic players such as SAIC Motor Corp (>> SAIC Motor Corporation Limited).

Volvo, which was acquired by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co from Ford Motor Co (>> Ford Motor Company) in 2010, aims for annual sales of 800,000 cars by 2020, almost double the level last year.

(Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu; Writing by Lee Chyen Yee; Editing by Nick Macfie)