Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Ford in further talks with Shanghai Auto to sell Volvo]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/08/ford-in-further-talks-with-shanghai-auto-to-sell-volvo/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/08/ford-in-further-talks-with-shanghai-auto-to-sell-volvo/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/08/ford-in-further-talks-with-shanghai-auto-to-sell-volvo/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The UK's Sunday Mail is reporting that Ford has returned to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) to make another pitch to sell Volvo. As we told you back in June, SAIC is one of the leading contenders to snap up Volvo. Although Ford had long maintained the Swedish automaker was not for sale, it recently admitted it was entertaining offers for the firm. Having paid $6.4 billion for Volvo back in 1999, it is believed that Ford is now seeking around $6 billion for the company. That's a lot of renminbi.

Like the rest of the industry, Volvo is struggling in today's market with third-quarter sales down 24 percent. It has cut thousands of jobs and has even sought assistance from the Swedish government. Besides SAIC, Hyundai Motor Co. is still believed to be in the hunt for Volvo, as well as the Swedish government itself, although that seems unlikely.

If SAIC does end up in Chinese hands, it won't be their first experience building Volvos. The Chinese-market-only, long-wheelbase S80L is already being built at the CFMA Chongqing plant in China, but that is a unique partnership for now and it is unclear how the sale of Volvo to SAIC would affect that arrangement.

[Source: The Sunday Mail]

Ford in further talks with Shanghai Auto to sell Volvo originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ford volvoFordVolvosaicsaic motorsaic volvoSaicMotorSaicVolvoShanghai Automotive Industry CorporationShanghaiAutomotiveIndustryCorporationvolvo for salevolvo fordVolvoFordVolvoForSaleMon, 08 Dec 2008 09:59:00 EST<![CDATA[Sinking Swede? Ford devalues Volvo]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/24/sinking-swede-ford-devalues-volvo/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/24/sinking-swede-ford-devalues-volvo/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/24/sinking-swede-ford-devalues-volvo/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Ford won't say what it thinks Volvo is worth, but the Blue Oval does believe that its Swedish subsidiary is worth $2.4 billion less than it was before. Although PAG, Ford's Premier Auto Group comprised of Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, increased its year-over-year revenue and pre-tax profit in 2007, Volvo once again posted a pre-tax loss for the year. In addition, with Ford's sales outlook for Volvo having been a bit optimistic, the brand's car production will be cut this year by 23,000 units. These are the reasons that Ford cites for the writedown, in addition to "an adverse model mix", i.e. vehicles that consumers don't seem to be interested in buying. Ford, however, says that this is not the first step in a Volvo sale and that it won't start building Volvos in America to counter the crappy exchange rates that jacks up prices.

Ford has largely kept Volvo out of the PAG fire sale discussion. Aston Martin found a new home just after it made a profit for the first time in years, and PAG's improved numbers last year were due solely to the barnbusting business being done over at Land Rover, which was good enough to put both Land Rover and Jaguar's combined business in the black. Ford has a lot of chickens closer to home that it's worrying about right now, but one wonders when it will publicly commit to doing right by Volvo (development-wise and model-wise) or commit to selling it.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Sinking Swede? Ford devalues Volvo originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier this month we brought you a rumor that BMW was in talks with Ford to buy Volvo. Then just this week the rumor popped up again, in a Swedish newspaper. Now Ford comes out to officially quash the story, saying, "Ford Motor Company is not in discussions with BMW or any other company regarding an interest in the Volvo Car Corporation."

That should take care of it, right? Well, not with everyone. Reuters quotes several industry analysts saying such a sell wouldn't surprise them. Ford could make a load of much-needed money by getting rid of Volvo, and one analyst said he would expect Ford to look at all serious offers.

A Merrill Lynch analyst told Reuters Ford might get as much as $8 billion for Volvo, if, of course, it were for sale.

We've already stated our thoughts on BMW buying Volvo, but with the sale of Chrysler to a private equity group, could Volvo be the next Cerberus target? A Chrysler/Volvo team could be the halo marque the automaker needs, and Chrysler could also benefit from Volvo's safety first image.

Such a matchup might also mean a Magnum-based Volvo wagon. Interesting.

Thanks for the tip, SobeSVT!

[Source: Reuters via Yahoo]

Ford denies discussing sale of Volvo originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 May 2007 07:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bmwbmw buying volvobmw buys volvoBmwBuyingVolvoBmwBuysVolvocerberus buying volvocerberus buys volvoCerberusBuyingVolvoCerberusBuysVolvofordford bmwford sales volvoford selling volvoford selling volvo bmwford selling volvo to bmwford volvoFordBmwFordSalesVolvoFordSellingVolvoFordSellingVolvoBmwFordSellingVolvoToBmwFordVolvovolvovolvo for saleVolvoForSaleWed, 30 May 2007 07:38:00 EST<![CDATA[BMW reportedly interested in buying Volvo?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/09/bmw-reportedly-interested-in-buying-volvo/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/09/bmw-reportedly-interested-in-buying-volvo/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/09/bmw-reportedly-interested-in-buying-volvo/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Autocar says BMW seriously considered taking Volvo off of Ford's hands earlier this year, going so far as to request financial data about the company, which is surprising on several levels.

First, does this mean Volvo is for sale? Bill Ford has said nothing in Ford's Premium Auto Group is sacred, but Volvo seems to be one of the company's shiniest jewels.

Perhaps the greatest surprise would be BMW's Quandt family overcoming its aversion to buying another carmaker after the much maligned purchase of Rover. Despite ending up with the popular MINI brand, it's well known that the Quandts were not happy with the whole mess.

Speaking of the MINI brand, Autocar theorizes that had BMW written a check for Volvo, future small cars from the Swedish automaker might have been based on a platform shared with an expanded MINI lineup. Autocar daydreams that by sharing with Volvo, MINI might have expanded its lineup with a sedan and that rumored SUV variant, the Colorado. On the other hand, larger, more upscale Volvos could have been BMW-based.

Which leads us to another quandary in this rumored buyout deal. How would BMW have positioned Volvo's quite similar lineup against its own? Both have a full selection of premium coupes, sedans, wagons and SUVs targeted at upper income buyers. Granted, Volvo touts safety while BMW espouses to be the "Ultimate Driving Machine," but wouldn't sales of the V50 have competed with the 3-Series wagon? The V70 with the 5-Series?

Upside? Well, Ford would have gotten another short-term financial boost and BMW would have had the potential to save money with platform sharing.

What does the Autoblog community think? Opportunity missed or disaster averted?

Thanks for the tip, Brent!

[Source: Autocar]

BMW reportedly interested in buying Volvo? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 May 2007 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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