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STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's Volvo Cars, which is controlled by Chinese auto maker Geely, will need up to two years to expand its U.S. car production in order to avoid hefty import tariffs, CEO Hakan Samuelsson told daily Dagens Nyheter (DN) on Friday.
Volvo Cars is one of the most exposed automakers to U.S. President Donald Trump's auto tariffs as it imports most of its hybrid and electric models from Europe.
A Volvo spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Samuelsson told DN it would not be sustainable for the company in the long term to sell European-made cars in the United States at a 27.5% tariff, and that importing from the company's Chinese plants was "impossible" given the much higher U.S. tariffs on China.
"In the short term, within one to two years, it will be about selling the cars we have," he said, adding the situation would put pressure on profit margins but that customers will also have to pay more.
Samuelsson last week said Volvo Cars was working towards increasing production in the U.S. as a response to tariffs.
(Reporting by Marie Mannes, writing by Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik and Susan Fenton)