Volvo to BMW rumor pops up yet again
Another day, another rumor of the sale of Volvo's automobile operations. Of course, Ford is the current owner of the Swedish maker of shapely bricks, and the Blue Oval could definitely use the money as it tries to regains its shaky footing in its home market. A sale of Volvo has been spoken of for the last few years, and industry talk has seemed to pick up steam as Ford unloaded the other automakers that used to make up its now defunct Premium Auto Group. BMW has been mentioned as a possible suitor for Volvo in the past and its name has popped up yet again. At some point, we have to wonder if there's some truth to these rumors, despite the fact the both automakers have continued to deny the possible sale. Still, it wouldn't seem to be the ideal fit, as Volvo's reputation of building safe but somewhat dowdy vehicles clashes with BMW's sporty intentions.
[Source: Times Online]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Swede 8:11AM (10/27/2008)
It would be the ideal fit! Compare it with VW/Audi.
BMW makes sporty premium cars, Volvo would be BMW's answer to VW, more family oriented.
Do I think it will happen? No. But it would make sense.
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tj 2:40PM (10/27/2008)
my thoughts exactly. if ford keeps volvo, they'll continue pushing it up market to compete with the germans.
I think volvo's a great brand with great cars. However, I dont think they can compete well directly against german premiums in a very crowded market. volvo will see its greatest success as a baby brother bmw, while bmw will see greater success increasing volume of shared parts.
Richard 8:18AM (10/27/2008)
RWD vs. FWD. So probably not gonna happen.
Volvo and Saab should merge ("Salvo?") and sell themselves to TaTa.
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Swede 8:23AM (10/27/2008)
And which axle that propels the car is relevant to business dealings since when?
Bluestreak 8:55AM (10/27/2008)
Mini is FWD and it doesn't seem to hurt business synergies. However, Volvo didn't start converting to FWD until the late 80s, and I'd love to see them return to a RWD platform anyway. A 3-Series-based V50 would be awesome.
Yago Bal 9:08AM (10/27/2008)
@Swede:
It's relevant since these are brand which care a lot about their image.
BMW can only be RWD: they value their dynamic qualities more than anything else.
Volvo can only be FWD: they did that change because they found it's the safest setup, and they will not go back on safety.
They could merge, even so, of course, but there's less potential for economies of scale with such differences. Unless one of them changes to AWD.
@Bluestreak:
That's why BMW is searching for a partner to develop the platform of the next one (as far as I've heard, Mercedes/smart and Fiat were already approached).
Bluestreak 11:22AM (10/27/2008)
Yago Bal,
How exactly is FWD safer than RWD? We're not talking Corvairs here. FWD is first and foremost cheaper to manufacture, and secondly provides a low level floor in the rear (good for minivans, mostly). I think the whole "safety and traction" advantage argument died with the introduction of advanced traction control.
Given the choice of an old Volvo 700 or 800 series, I'll take the former.
Temple 1:09PM (10/27/2008)
FWD is safer for grandmas and average folk that are used to understeer. In slippery conditions for many people having a car being pulled by the front wheels is much easier to drive then a car being pushed by the rear wheels.
Jei 9:34AM (10/27/2008)
Hmmm, I have 2 distint thoughts:
1. Ford hasn't been that great of an owner to Volvo. It just seems that Ford doesn't know what to do with any luxury brand. They drove Lincoln into the ground by doing as little as possible to differentiate the line-up from the mainstream brands. And it took a lot for them to realize that Ford isn't just evaluated on it's Ford brand, but a lot of that eval is based on how they see (and execute) luxury for the market they most depend on. Ford has failed miserably. They're slowing trying to re-design the line-up (by taking multiple pages from Cadillac's playbook), but many of they designs a vastly similar to Volvo, who might be on its way out the door; and Aston Martin, that was sold for some coin (that's probably spent 3x over by now). Like GM, they really didn't understand the true characteristics of the brands they (tried) to swallow and profit from when they maybe should've just purchased them and let them continue to be a separate entity outside of their listing of divisions; and just collaborated for components when necessary, but allowed their luxury brands to have their own platforms.
2. Considering how BMW has handled Mini & Rolls-Royce, they seem to be extremely likely to steer Volvo in the best direction. A Volvo under the Bravarian umbrella, would be able to focus on safety while sipping some major design/re-design updates from the vast pool of BMW's creative ranks. I can imagine a redesigned XC90 carrying a BMW TT I6 & a Volvo-ized form of xDrive. With as many design concepts Volvo has released, they'd be able to produce many of them under BMW ownership.
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Mitlov 10:11AM (10/27/2008)
It makes perfect sense to me.
BMW has been saying it needs an environmentally-focused brand. Although Volvo's main reputation is safety, it's a popular brand with environmentally-focused liberals and the like, and the brand already has a significant focus on the environment:
http://www.volvocars.com/us/experience/Pages/environment.aspx
BMW could lead Volvo further down this route, introducing the 1.6L turbo and the small diesel from the Cooper to the C30/S40/V50, experimenting with hybrids and full-electric cars, etc.
People express concern that BMW is sporty and Volvo isn't. This isn't a bad thing! You don't want two divisions of your automotive group in direct competition with each other. The sort of people who would buy a hybrid XC70 are not the sort who would ever buy a 335i coupe. That's a reason why BMW *should* buy Volvo, not a reason why they shouldn't!
And for those who worry about synergies: Audi primarily uses longitudinally-mounted engines (and Torsen AWD); VW primarily uses transverse-mounted engines (either FWD or Haldex AWD). Toyota favors FWD; Lexus favors RWD. Same with Nissan and Infiniti. So I see no problem with a premium-but-not-luxury Volvo working with the full-on-luxury BMW.
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John 10:15AM (10/27/2008)
I am a current Volvo owner and I agree with "Swede" that Volvo and BMW are a good fit. They fill different market segments yet both core audiences value owning a european car and are willing to pay for image.
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Retroqqq 10:16AM (10/27/2008)
if BMW buys Volvo prepare to say bye bye Volvo
remember what happened with Rover, it was all part of BMWs plan to shut Rover down. Now Volvo is next.
Read here :
http://www.aronline.co.uk/index.htm?whydbbrf.htm
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Coco 11:15AM (10/27/2008)
Not going to happen... BMW's bread and butter is brand imaging and so called "prestige" factor, that's why a lot of shallow image conscious people flock towards this marque. The real mantra of BMW is not "the Ultimate driving machine" but has always really been, "if you want to feel affluent, hip and good looking, you should drive a BMW". BMW marketing knows this as they realize people with identity crisis will lay down the money as long as the their badge is featured on the hood, just look at the X6, the highly impractical, overpriced heap of hippopotamus poodoo is already sold out :)
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Scott 11:45AM (10/27/2008)
Yeah, those 3 Series are know for their terribly mundane driving dynamics. It's all about prestige!
Mitlov 12:05AM (10/28/2008)
*cough* Mini Cooper *cough*
Even if your stereotyping was accurate for BMW itself, it's certainly not accurate for other brands within the BMW corporate umbrella.
Cameron 11:45AM (10/27/2008)
135i drivetrain in a Volvo C30 FTW!
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PG13 12:18PM (10/27/2008)
I think this is a great idea. They're different enough not to compete with each other, and BMW should be able to manage Volvo well. They would have a good group going with Volvo and Mini.
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k.w.a 12:48PM (10/27/2008)
BMW and Volvo are my two favorite brands, i grew up with both of them in my family.. but i think this a bad idea (for Volvo anyways). Volvo is barely hanging on to its reputation as a premium vehicle, and I'm sure BMW will cheapen it.
It's like making a deal with the Devil. Volvo will most likely become a better car company if BMW buys it, but it forfeits any hope of being a comptetitor in the luxury car market.
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TCR 12:57PM (10/27/2008)
I have a 07 BMW 335i and an 06 Volvo V70 in my driveway. They seem to go together and complement each other quite nicely. It is their diffrences that I appreciate the most. I don't want to see a merger of BMW and Volvo, they both have very distinct character that needs to be maintianed,
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Richard S. 9:22PM (10/27/2008)
What is a Volvo? It is a Swedish middle-class car that had to position itself as a luxury make when rising costs increased its price relative to the competition.
Volvo should return to its roots...make cars that cost slightly more than an Accord or Camry but are safer, better looks and well equipped. That's what a S60 should have been, and not go against a Lexus ES350 or BMW 3-Series.
The C30 is too expensive. Volvo needs to find a way to lower its price without affecting quality. Build it in Slovakia if need be. If it works for VW should work for Volvo too.
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