Volvo and Siemens to jointly develop an electric car for 2012

Swedish carmaker Volvo, part of China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (0175.HK), announced a partnership with the German industrial giant Siemens (SI.NYSE) to enhance their C30 Electric model, the Wall Street Journal reported. The first joint vehicles will begin testing by the end of 2011, and Volvo plans to deliver 200 of the new C30 model to Siemens late 2012 for internal testing. The cooperation agreement will focus on the development of electric-drive technology, power electronics and charging. Geely is China’s largest independent auto manufacturer, and acquired Volvo from Ford (F.NYSE) last year for US$1.3 billion. The deal follows the announcement of a similar partnership between General Motors (GM.NYSE) and LG Electronics (066570.SEO) last week.