Guy Lofalk, the administrator of Saab’s reorganization, will ask the court in Vänersborg to terminate the reorganization process. Before, Saab expressed “doubts that the bridge funding of Youngman and Pang Da, of which a partial payment has been received, shall be paid in full on 22 October 2011.” Finally something we can agree on.
What happens if the court accepts Lofalk’s recommendation? Stockholm News explains it:
In a statement issued late Friday, China’s Geely poured cold water over rumors that it is interested in Saab, but confirmed that there was a meeting – because they wanted to be nice. There is another version that says that Sweden’s Finance Minister caused Geely’s Li Shu Fu a massive loss of face, whereupon he took his balls and went home. (Read More…)
Where to start? Let’s start with the money. The $96 million promised by China’s Youngman and badly needed by Saab are not here. They haven’t left China either. Not just because China is on vacation. Youngman claims they have not received what they were promised, and until that happens, no money will be sent. “If the conditions are not met, we cannot pay,” Rachel Pang, president of Youngman, said in an email to Dagens Industri. Welcome to China. Now wait what the Swedes have up their sleeves. (Read More…)
Yesterday, we reported that Saab was waiting for some $93 million to arrive from China. The matter has not changed. Now, people on the inside get the impression that yellow knight Youngman wants out. This morning, Swedens’s Dagens Industri cited an inside source that says that Youngman wants out, and another Chinese maker wants in. Yeah, sure. (Read More…)
The national character of auto brands is a tricky thing. For decades, Volvo wore its Swedishness on its sleeve, emphasizing the values that made Ikea, Abba and Swedish porn so popular in the US… even when it was an outpost of the Ford empire. And then the unthinkable happened: Chinese up-and-comer Li Shufu bought the brand and rolled it into his Geely empire. In the world of national-character-branding, being bought by a Chinese firm is something like hiring Casey Anthony as a brand ambassador, or using a mascot called “Mr Melamine Milk” (another nightmare scenario can be found here). So, how does a brand like Volvo, that was built on Swedishness, get past the “China Factor”? By doubling down on Swedishness? How about by building cars in the US?
According to conventional wisdom, all cars in China are blatant copies of foreign cars. With the joint venture cars, that is certainly true. With some true red Chinese cars this is also sometimes the case. Now it seems that Chinese carmakers ran out of foreign victims and started to copy Chinese cars. Volvo is owned by China’s Geely, as we all know. Can you spot the true Volvo? (Read More…)
He (silver grey tie) is Li Shu Fu, Chairman of Geely, and owner of Volvo. A few days ago, we reported that Saab’s Russian rescue by Vladmir Antonov is running into flak from Brussels, and that Victor Muller is looking to China. To a niche player in China, no less. Victor Muller thinks he will maintain more independency that way. Dream on. If a Chinese buyer buys a foreign brand, then for getting credibility in the export market. That is Geely’s play with Volvo. (Read More…)
“Why would you even ask that question? Do you think the Chinese want to kill people on the road?”
Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby after a reporter had asked him in Geneva whether Chinese ownership could hurt Volvo’s safety image.
From Automotive News [sub]
The first thing I ask any company that wants to do anything in China is: “Did you register your trademark?” Usually, they did not. I either help them registering it (costs around $1,000). If they refuse, I won’t work with them. It would be a waste of time. All too often someone else in China sees a value in that trademark. Being a “first to file” country, anybody can file any trademark in China that isn’t already filed – in China. Getting your trademark back is a long, expensive, and often hopeless case.
Ignorance takes another victim: Land Rover. (Read More…)
When GM tried to sell cars via eBay, 45 cars were sold in the first nine days. A month later, the idea was abandoned. Is the idea dead? Not in China. (Read More…)
GM’s attempt to sell cars via eBay resulted in 45 cars sold in the first nine days. A month later, the idea was abandoned. I wonder why. A few weeks ago, Kia said they would try eBay. No word yet on any results. Now, China’s Geely joins the on-line fray. (Read More…)
Stefan Jacoby, CEO of bought-by-Geely Volvo needs to bring down the cost of Volvo’s European-made cars.
So where will the new Volvo factories be? You have two tries.
China? Check. Volvo might actually open three factories in China, Stefan Jacoby said recently in Stockholm. Details should be forthcoming within the next weeks.
Ok, now for another country … (Read More…)
Volvo, now in the hands of China’s Geely, may revolutionize the way electric and hybrid cars are built. Currently, you have to shove a big honking battery into an electric car, and a simple honking battery into a hybrid. This adds weight, and obesity is a killer when in come to mileage. Volvo, working with the Imperial College in London has a wild idea: Why not dispense with the big honking battery and use the whole auto body to store electricity. Say what? (Read More…)
Now that Geely has bought Volvo, their founder and chairman Li Shufu is seeking a new challenge. He’s going virtual.
Geely plans to sell cars specially designed for Internet sales at Alibaba, China’s biggest online marketplace, reports state news agency Xinhua. (Read More…)
With the Volvo sale from Ford to Geely finally closed and consummated, Geely is losing no time, both in Sweden and in China.
In Sweden, Geely will “pursue investment opportunities” (read: buy other companies in part or in whole), reports Gasgoo, citing sources from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). When MOFCOM gets involved, then we are talking sizeable deals. According to the report, Geely intends to cooperate with Swedish companies in several sectors, including green cars, alternative fuels, and hybrid technology. Stefan Ostling, an auto project manager from Invest Sweden, says that Geely has already completed tie-ups with Swedish auto technology consulting firms like Semcon and HiQ through equity participation and acquisitions. (Read More…)
Recent Comments