Rumormill: Volvo reportedly suspends plan to launch production S60 at Frankfurt

Volvo's plan to debut the production version of its all new S60 sedan next month at the Frankfurt Motor Show have apparently been canceled. According to a report out of the Netherlands from Autotelegraaf, the new mid-size sedan now won't launch until sometime in 2010. The S60 was shown in concept form at this year's Detroit Auto Show and was one of several concepts shown with Ford's upcoming 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine. The reason for the delay isn't entirely clear, but there is apparently still work to be done and Volvo will be taking the S60 to the Nürburgring next month for test sessions.

Part of the delay may also have to do with Ford's attempts to sell the Swedish brand. The leading bidder is rumored to be Chinese automaker Geely, but there is opposition in Sweden to Chinese ownership. Separately owned truckmaker Volvo is concerned about damaging the brand name if it falls into Chinese hands and there are also issues with intellectual property rights with technology shared by Volvo and Ford. This last issue is also a concern for GM and Magna's bid to buy Opel with Russian backing. All of which serves to highlight the difficulty of trying to break up a large multi-brand automaker with shared technology.

[Source: Autotelegraaf.nl]