REPORT: Geely denies plans to buy Volvo
Of the many suitors who have reportedly had at least a passing interest in acquiring the Volvo brand from Ford Motor Company, the Volvo Group, BMW and Daimler have all publicly decided to pass on the opportunity. Many believe that a Chinese automaker will step up to the plate and purchase the Swedish brand known for safety, but now Geely has withdrawn its name from the proceedings with the statement, "We don't have plans to buy Volvo as some media have reported." Well, fine then. With Geely dropping out, SAIC remains a possible Chinese suitor along with Changan Automobile Group, Dongfeng Motor Group and Chery Automobile, all of which have said that they are monitoring the situation, whatever that means. Renault has recently emerged as a possible bidder as well. Ford is rumored to be looking to get about $6 billion for Volvo, which is just about what the Blue Oval paid for it in 1999.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
caddy-v 2:23PM (2/05/2009)
And in other news,
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ken_aisin 2:35PM (2/05/2009)
Can the Swedish government please step in and buy Volvo from Ford? I don't want to see Volvo cars that look like Mercedes. If you don't get what I mean, see below link for a Geely model. (The bottom white one is a Geely).
http://sunboar.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/mercedes-c-vs-geely-merrie-300-proto.jpg
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AntBee 3:40PM (2/05/2009)
I wonder how they get away with blatantly copying other manufacturer's designs.
Oh, I know, let an Italian court decide it's alright, that is, until it's an Italian design that's copied
From the lack of comments on this article, it would appear that other Autoblog readers, along with myself, are sick and damned tired of reading about the China and its automakers. The articles regarding China and its automakers hold no interest to me whatsoever. Their chances of buying Volvo or any other automaker at this point are slim to none at best. Please stop with the unnecessary reporting on all things China. I'd hate to leave Autoblog as I did CNN when it became the all war/terror all the time channel.
big J 11:41PM (2/05/2009)
so what about the Hyundai Genesis?
JG 2:03PM (3/23/2009)
AB Volvo suffered a lapse in good judgment when they sold Volvo Cars.
They got an influx of cash. And they sold a respected car company down the river.
And they lost a division that provided balance between the car and truck business
business cycle fluctations.
Ford does not understand the European luxury car market and the customer base that is vastly different from average Ford product customers.
Ford has done little for Volvo, but Ford got the safety, CAN BUS and other technology they wanted from Volvo. Now Ford says it has safe cars … thanks to Volvo.
And what can Volvo be thankful for ? Not much. Culturally, it was a mismatch. And now they will sell it to a Chinese company. If you think there was a culture mismatch (clash) before, how do you think it will be going forward?
A company’s culture and charism have a great deal to do with the products it designs and
builds. When the culture is compromised, you will see that reflected in the product.
Volvo still has the potential to return to the great company it was, but it will soon be too
late. Was Volvo perfect? Is any car company perfect. No, but Volvo had so much going for it. Yes, it is small, but what about BMW ???
Once Ford purchased Volvo, it required Volvo to participate in all the pain
that really belonged to Ford alone. Downsizing, silo mentality, imposition of rules & regulations that perhaps were necessary for a huge entity such as Ford, but not for
much smaller Volvo, “One size fits all” ... all of which served to curtail and stifle creativity and positive employee morale. A culture clash for sure.
Outsource and also lower the average age of the workforce so you can pay them less. Remember the saying … you get what you pay for.
Experienced, talented and passionate employees have continued to leave the corporation.
They were there from a young age, learned the business, acquired the necessary business experience and wisdom that is invaluable for when it is their time to become the company’s leaders. But many potential leaders have been jettisoned.
Volvo needs to get back “home” to Sweden and AB Volvo and to its European roots.
Patrick 4:00PM (2/05/2009)
If a Chinese Company buys Volvo, Volvo's reputation would essentially disappear. Chinese cars are the exact opposite of Volvo's. They could learn some safety design features from Volvo, but if the cars are made in China with inferior quality metals and lower design standards, who would want it.
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big J 11:45PM (2/05/2009)
Let's be serious now, at this moment in time Volvo doesn't have much of a reputation to begin with. If a Chinese company bought Volvo, it would most likely be purely for the technology. You act like Volvo is such a valuable asset and doing so well and that's why Ford is trying to get rid of it, they're dead weight for Ford and any other moderately experienced car company.
Falcom 4:41PM (2/05/2009)
why would Geely buy what they can copy for free?
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2o6 6:33PM (2/05/2009)
If the cars shown at the Beijing 2008 autoshow are indicator, Geely might know what they're doing. SAIC, I'm confused about. They don't want to help Ssangyong, but they'll buy Volvo? Seems like their priorities are a bit skewed.
People on autoblog are just xenophobic idiots.
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tommygrindin 1:08PM (2/06/2009)
Prior to 2008, Geely hasn't really had much of a good track record.
airswingman 6:32PM (2/05/2009)
vovlo is not worth to buy.
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tommygrindin 8:03PM (2/05/2009)
So what you're saying is the huge amount of technology, engines and platforms that has helped Ford is not worth anything?
big J 11:42PM (2/05/2009)
"So what you're saying is the huge amount of technology, engines and platforms that has helped Ford is not worth anything?"
So why do their cars STILL suck? The new Taurus is decent and that's about it, those raving about it are just fooling themselves.
tommygrindin 1:10PM (2/06/2009)
@Big J
So what about the Lincoln MKS, the Ford Flex, the Land Rover LR2, NEARLY ALL of Ford of Europe's product line-up, Ford's current safety ratings, nearly all the technology Jaguar/Land Rover and Aston Martin has used or turbocharging for Ecoboost?
And despite repeated offers, Ford never considered getting rid go of Volvo until the current economic situation forced them to this past December.
CPT 10:55PM (2/05/2009)
There is so much speculation out there, Volvo would be a good fit for Renault, BMW, Daimler and even Honda or Hyundai. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, Volvo deserves better than a Chinese company with deep pockets.
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big J 11:54PM (2/05/2009)
What is it that you guys don't understand? Right now Volvo isn't worth squat to the established automakers, does NOT hold much if any brand prestige in China, and DOES NOT have great cars relative to the competition, and their sales volume is trash.
Volvo is NOT a great buy for a Chinese automaker, which is why they haven't bought it yet and why nobody else wants to either, INCLUDING the Swedish govt.
You guys keep posting comments about how you don't want a Chinese company to buy them, AS IF they wanted to buy them in the FIRST PLACE.
Face it, nobody wants Volvo and they'd be lucky to get bought out before they go down under.
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CPT 12:25PM (2/06/2009)
BIG J,
Nobody is portraying Volvo to be something it isn't. The media has placed their spin in all of this because due to the massive speculation and focus on a hightly distressed industry. It appears that you don't know much about Volvo or even the auto industry in general.
Ford needs cash, it's as simple as that ! Volvo on paper is valuable despite what you think. Why do you think Ford sold Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover and not Volvo? The company is definitely struggling, and is in financial trouble, but keep in mind that Volvo does have a solid reputation, some nice looking future product and offers world class safety. Don't let it ruin your day when Volvo is bought by a "big name" company...it'll happen.
Volvo trucks 7:05AM (2/10/2009)
China's largest privately owned carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd has denied reports that it is acquiring the Volvo car unit from Ford Motor Co, Reuters said yesterday.
It quoted a spokesperson from Geely as saying: "We don't have plans to buy Volvo as some media have reported."
http://www.truckend.com/
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mike560sec 1:32AM (2/17/2009)
guys..look what GM did to SAAB? its SAABARU now !!saab badge with subaru platform and all the parts !!they used to be unique and stylish..and now look like trash..and remember long ago what chrysler tried to do with that chrysler TC?( chrysler car with maserati badge and supposely some parts from them..and volvos have lost thier own great design like the old 240(perhaps the best timeless design they ever did !!)under FORD's ownership...
look the truth hurts but let the truth be told...our american car makers are all idiots ! they keep producing the wrong car for the wrong timing..and they never learned the lessons anyway..long ago..we blamed the japanese...in the 90's GM tried to sell thier huge car like CADILLAC to japan...and they wont even bother to
build them for right hand drive !!(japan and UK are all right hand drive )..and everytime i see a girl driving a huge truck like F150
..I am just so speechless! they can even back up the car with confidence!!! cuz they are so huge and useless!! and yet...they are the best selling one in US !!!
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