Autoblog

Ford to seek Volvo buyer next month

Noah Joseph — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:39:00 EST

Emerging reports indicate that Ford is moving ahead with the sale of Volvo Cars with a determined push to find a new buyer around the middle of February. Although it's undoubtedly a bad time to be selling, Ford needs the cash on hand and a streamlined corporate structure in order to weather the current storm without going into debt.

As was previously suggested, Chinese automakers - including Shanghai (SAIC), Chery and Guangzhou - are looking like the most likely buyers for the Swedish automaker. Although details have not been made public over which prospective buyers Ford is approaching, industry analysts note that most European automakers would have an issue with overlap, while Indian auto giant Tata has enough on its plate with Jaguar and Land Rover.

[Source: Detroit News]

Ford to seek Volvo buyer next month originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Swedish Sell-A-Thon! Ford reconsiders selling Volvo

John Neff — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:59:00 EST

Filed under: Ford, Volvo

Ford announced today that it's "re-evaluating strategic options for Volvo Car Corporation", which in plain English means that it may sell the Swedish brand that it's owned since 1998. The Dearborn-based automaker says this re-evaluation will take about three months, during which Ford and Volvo will work together as they always have. While the sale of Volvo will be no doubt be decided upon during this time, Ford has also said it will be working on propping Volvo up as a stand-alone business since the Premier Automotive Group, which once included Volvo, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover, has been dismantled. There's no mention of how much Ford thinks it can get for Volvo or whether any companies have actually expressed interest in the foreign brand known most for slavish devotion to safety. Though Volvo sales have been down sharply this year, the same can be said for virtually every brand in the industry. Potential suitors of Volvo may also be interested in the new S60 that will debut next month at the Detroit Auto Show and may improve the brand's fortunes.

[Source: Ford]

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Swedish Sell-A-Thon! Ford reconsiders selling Volvo originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sinking Swede? Ford devalues Volvo

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:03:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Ford, Volvo, Earnings/Financials

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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REPORT: Ford secretly planning summer sale of Volvo

John Neff — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:29:00 EST

Filed under: Ford, Volvo

The Business in the UK is speculating that, despite comments to the contrary, Ford is planning to auction off Volvo as soon as its deal to unload Jaguar and Land Rover to Indian automaker Tata is done. The summer sales event that would see the last of Ford's Premiere Auto Group sold off is expected to fetch Ford around $6 billion, which is just a smidge less than the $6.45 billion the automaker paid for the Swedish brand back in 1999. Unfortunately, despite a much improved product line-up, Volvo hasn't made a cent of profit under Ford's stewardship.

We're a bit leary of this claim that Volvo is headed for the auction block so soon, as Ford has intertwined its own platforms with those of Volvo to such an extent that selling off the automaker would involve extremely complicated deals to ensure that products planned for the near future that happen to share components are not interrupted. So far, only this one media outlet is reporting the story, with no other news organizations having stepped forward to corroborate its claims. Thanks for the tip, David!

[Source: The Business]

REPORT: Ford secretly planning summer sale of Volvo originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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