Ford Eyes Sale of Volvo, BMW Shows Interest

Why????????!!!!!!!!

Volvo is the only brand in Ford's Premier Automotive Group that does make money and the profit is fairly healthly. The problem for Ford's PAG is loosers like Jag eat it up.

Volvo had a solid car and strong SUV line that would fit well under BMW, but a big addition would be the commerical truck line. That is one area MB has over BMW, unless this deal goes through.

Volvo Cars, the Volvo truck division, and Volvo-Penta marine, are all seperate companies. BMW will only be buying the automotive division.

Volvo Truck Line nor Volvo Marine would be in the deal I promise you.

TheSailor is obviously suffering from scurvy. And from his words, sounds like he's never been overseas either. Good luck...you fish eatin limey land lover.

No, definitely not. A close friend of mine just traded in his S80 for an A4. To him, the flagship Volvo competes with the entry-level Audi sedan.

You are an idiot for comparing either BMW and Volvo to Mercedes..Last time I checked Mercedes had its emblem on a supercar worth more than your life..What does BMW have, an M5? And volvo is not even worth mentioning..

Mercedes is droppin like a rock man. The five stars ain't what it use to be. They've been taking a beating for years and then they bought Chrysler...oops!! Now you got two sorry companies. What do you do now? Benz makes nice cars that you can't drive passed 20K miles w/o it shutting down. Like I said scurvy must be settin in on ya.

theman...is clueless. Thanks for playing though dude.

Well I think it has been mentioned that BMW is looking to augment it's Mini range with more diverse models. It would then use the S40/V50/C30 architecture for this purpose. Supposedly the larger Volvo's would ride on a 5 series platform. Personaly I think BMW's plan would really decapitate Volvo because the larger vehicle S60/S80/V70 would have to be somehow downgraded as not to compete with 5 series. BMW is not about to ceed the competion with Mercedes or Audi. So why would they need an S60/S80 or V70 in the first place let alone an XC90. BMW has those niches covered.The only other reason I could possibly think of is Volvo's safety reputation. However maybe it's simply better to own your competion and get paid for it. BMW then becomes more like GM and Ford and Porsche. They own and or control multiple car companies or brands and cover every possible niche that is yet to be invented for the car buying public.Finally you would have an S60/S80/V79/XC90 that would be fun to drive.Although I guess the suspension tuning would perhaps be a little softer then a BMW. Who knows?

This just confirms what I always believed, that Ford should have just tried to improve it's own brand before it was spending money it didn't have to begin with.

This would make sense by making Volvo a more mass market brand. In a way it could try to make the Volvo name to compete with the smaller Jappanese and American brands.
Volvo would not be able to compete in the Luxury market. Nobody really considers Volvo or Saab as luxury cars. They would need a lot of work before they're mentioned in the same sentence as BMW or Mercedes. Maybe they'll finally produce RWD Volvo's.

This topic is already being discussed and is atleast two weeks old.

I think BMW should stick with operating niche companies ie. RR & Mini. I think Aston Martin would have been a good purchase for them considering their sporty background. If they wanted to make these kind of cars they would be doing it with Rover.

By acquiring another brand like Volvo, BMW is able to sell more cars and make more money without diluting the BMW name any more.

As BMW becomes a larger company they lessen there chances of ever being taken over by a large company.

Ultimately it protects the BMW brand.

Sure, just like they did with Rover not long ago! :)

Volvo makes money....Rover and Jag. burn it.

It's good to see Ford wanting to streamline. I've always thought this was the best rout for them. Get back to building the basics and make products worth buying. I envision the future of ford being a streamline car and truck builder for world markets with one or possibly two brands. It looks like that is the direction their headed.

Sailor
"What?! That makes absolutely no sence at all... What would BMW gain by buying Volvo?! Is Volvo even making a profit these days?!"

Great interiors,Innovative/inspired/Modern/descent/ angular designs(together with BMW's sharp designs = Best designs ever)and Safety Technology.

Especially they can help BMW to make a good enough 1 Series.(Hint:Volovo C30)

About profit,that BMW have to teach to Volvo.

I mean i see a sense in the purchase.

JUGNU

Right, especially because the R8 is sportier than any BMW currently in production. You make so much sense.

Another good reason why BMW should buy Volvo is that they could share front wheel drive platforms with future Mini products, while the rear wheel drive for BMW, Rolls Royce and maybe Volvo if customers want rear wheel drive, they could share 4 wheel drive engineering. Volvo makes money in the US and Europe, ford needs the cash for Jaguar, Range Rover and Lincoln

The begining of the end.

As a consumer I like the idea of a BMW takeover as I have been afraid to buy any Ford-related product. However, Chris Bangle better keep his nose out of Volvo's styling department. Volvo's styling could be vastly improved but one car with an ugly butt is already too much to bear.

Agreed.

I think BMW should just keep their focus on being the #1 selling luxury brand in the world. We all saw Mercedes loose that position after they started babysitting Chrylser.

True. I agree with mini22- BMW should continue with its niche brands, not a "mass market" brand like Volvo... especially when they're relatively close competitors. They would have to completely reposition the Volvo brand.

How is BMW "not" a mass market brand? Hello 1 and 3 Series.

I hope it doesn't happen, and I don't think it should- because I can't be sure that it would help either side.

How would it harm Ford, you ask? Well, unless Jaguar and Land Rover start bringing in profits (and they might, with Jaguar's comeback), or unless Ford sells its remaining British brands, their only profitable premium maker -Volvo- would be gone.

Otherwise, for BMW, it really wouldn't do much good. Right now, the BMW brand is creative, wealthy and most of all, focused. They know what they want, and they know how to get it. With the acquisition of Volvo, however, their priorities will change- they won't focus as much on improving BMW, and will probably spend a lot of money on repositioning Volvo, as some people would cross-shop current Volvo and BMW cars. They cover many of the same markets, and it would just be very draining on the boys in Munich for them to completely reshape another brand.

Just my $0.02.

I think that Ford's ownership of Volvo makes a lot more sense than BMW buying it. I'm really sceptical of a BMW purchase because of their experience with MG-Rover. They made a bad situation worse, in part, by separating the most profitable bits of it then letting the rest of the company drown. That was a really short-sighted thing to do which, in Longbridge, cost thousands their jobs.

BMW should stick with doing what they do best. Let someone else buy Volvo if Ford must sell it.

Well I don't think BMW would make the same mistake buying Volvo that they did with MG/Rover. For one Volvo makes a decent product. It also has a great safety reputation. Build quality is probably on par with BMW unlike MG/Rover. Also Volvo has more diverse models and engines. Remember also that MG had old models that were not selling. They did not sell in the US. The 2 companies could not be more different. If they do buy Volvo they will have to re position Volvo a bit downward. It would then compete with lower priced Audi's,Peugeot,Renault,Toyota,Saab etc. I guess. There may be no point to an S80 flagship but the bigger models would go back to RWD. This I would think could be good for Volvo as it would be a drivers car as well as a safe one. BMW really gets to expand the Mini brand with a lot more variants in the range using the S40/V70/C30 chassis. It's hard to say what or how it benefits Volvo other then the fact that they are under a very healthy profitable company that has some what success in recreating Mini. (The second generation cars are more profitable for BMW due to cheaper manufactoring methods). But BMW apparently needs more volume sales under Mini to truely make a decent profit on it. I hope that they keep Volvo intact and it continues to develop models