Volvo Sees Strong Sales Through 2006

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olvo AB's chief executive officer said he expects the company's worldwide truck sales to rise this year, led by demand from trucking companies in North America, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

But North American sales will slow at the end of 2006 or early 2007, CEO Leif Johannson said at a press conference at the company’s Gothenburg, Sweden, headquarters, Bloomberg reported.

Volvo is also looking to buy Asian companies to expand its business, Johannson told Bloomberg. Currently the company makes about 56% of its sales in Europe, 26% in North America and 10% in Asia.

The company wants to diversify geographically to add to its product line to offset any potential decreases in sales if and when a decline comes in North America, Bloomberg reported.

New U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations will take effect in 2007 for diesel engines that many have said could lead to trucking firms "pre-buying" engines beforehand, as they did when earlier stricter regulations took effect in 2002.