(Yicai Global) Jan. 5 -- Swedish carmaker Volvo's global sales volume climbed 7 percent last year to hit a record-high 570,000 units on rapid progress in the Asia-Pacific region.

The brand, owned by Chinese auto firm Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., saw APAC sales increase by 20.9 percent, it said in a statement yesterday. Units sold in Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose 3.3 percent while figures in the Americas edged up 0.7 percent.

Volvo announced in July that it would start equipping all new automobiles with an electric motor from 2019 onwards, putting new-energy vehicles at the forefront of its development. The firm also signed a deal with American car-hailing platform Uber Inc. in November, under which it will sell tens of thousands of sedans between 2019 and 2021.

The automaker was founded in Gothenburg in 1927 and now has 31,000 employees worldwide. Ford Motor Co. bought it out in 1999 before China-based Geely took over in 2010.