China's Geely and its newly acquired Volvo plan to build three assembly plants in the country to make Volvo cars, in a bid to realize the dream of selling 300,000 vehicles a year, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing Li Shufu, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.

Quickly boosting Volvo's presence in China is a key piece of Geely's turnaround strategy for the brand, the report said.

The new China-based owners of Volvo plan to set up two vehicles' assembly plants, one in Shanghai and another in Chengdu, Southwest China, a source close to the matter said earlier. He also said an independent engine plant was also planned for somewhere in China.

Li confirmed the third production base but dispelled rumors of an engine plant in the interview. He said the third assembly plant would be based in Northeastern China's Daqing.

The plants in Shanghai and Daqing would be newly constructed, and the annual output of each plant is expected to reach 100,000, if it wins the government's approval, Li was cited by the report as saying.