CHINA's Making Moves: First Hummer, Now Volvo?

Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. narrowed talks on the sale of its Volvo Car unit to one bidder, a consortium led by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.

Ford will be holding more “detailed and focused negotiations with Geely,” having chosen the Chinese company as the “preferred bidder,” the U.S. carmaker said in a statement today. Ford hasn’t resolved concerns about protecting intellectual property, said a person familiar with the talks.

“Geely has the potential to be a responsible future owner of Volvo and to take the business forward while preserving its core values and the independence of the Swedish brand,” Ford Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth said. Ford has no plan to retain a stake in Volvo and has “no specific timeline” to conclude the discussions, it said.....



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pushrod27 - 10/28/2009 12:46:19 PM

+3 Boost

A Chinese Volvo?... you can kiss safety goodbye!

topneuro - 10/28/2009 1:09:34 PM

+2 Boost

If China has any legitimate interest in “entering and leading” the global automobile market certainly safety should be an unequivocal priority and Volvo is the correct learning model. If they start cutting corners to keep them cheap, Volvo is doomed.

_43LE - 10/28/2009 2:53:58 PM

+3 Boost

I remember when Japanese cars were once considered cheaply made death traps. Now, the only brand to have all of their cars achieve top crash ratings by IIHS and NHTSA is Acura.

Agent63 - 10/29/2009 4:46:14 AM

+4 Boost

Oh people. Quit looking down on the Chinese. Even though they have a lot of replica or fakes in their marketplace doesn't mean they can't manage a company. I am Chinese myself and I feel some racism and racial bias going on here. Most of the products you guys wear to work and to go out are made in China. Do you complain? No! many of you just care what logo is on the god damn shirt and you are proud of it.

As long as the Chinese aren't dealing with the construction aspect of the cars I don't see how it can affect the manufacturing process. TaTa owns Land Rover and Jaguar but do you see the 2010 Range Rover Sport looking like Donkey Doodle? HELL NO!. Same applies for Hummer and Volvo.

TheDepressingTruth - 10/30/2009 3:36:13 AM

+1 Boost

China isn't buying Volvo to build Volvos...They are buying them to obtain TECHNOLOGY..