HARBIN — A cargo train carrying 123 China-made Volvo cars set off from Daqing city, Heilongjiang province for Belgium on Monday, marking the start of the new China-Europe train service.

The shipment to Zeebrugge Port in Belgium also marked the first time that China has exported complete vehicles to Western Europe.

A one-way trip takes 18 days via the 9,832 kilometers-long route, passing through Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany along the way.

Meng Qingwen, general manager of the HAO International Logistics Co Ltd, which operates the logistics transport, said the train service was tailor-made for Volvo's Daqing factory.

Meng said trains will run once a week on the line initially, and the number of weekly round trips may reach four to five by the end of this year, depending on the company's export needs to Europe.

The first shipment on the new line carried Volvo's flagship model, the S90L.

Volvo Car Group has moved production of its S90 models from Sweden to the Daqing plant, which has been a key part of its strategy to make China a global manufacturing and export hub. The factory in China also produced the country's first car exports to the United States in 2015.