Sometimes you feel like a BMW… and sometimes you don’t. Volvo has caught wind of this, and offers the 2011 S60 in hopes of adding the Bavarian-ambivalent market to its solid Swedophile base. What Volvo seems to have forgotten is that part of the BMW appeal is that the brand can be successfully marketed without resorting to worn-out terms like “naughty.” At least it could, once upon a time.
Ask a non gearhead on the street (or pub, restaurant, clubs, etc) “who builds the most reliable cars?” and names like “Toyota”, “Hyundai”, “Ford” and “Honda” will crop up. Ask who builds the safest cars on the road and almost certainly, the name “Volvo” will be said.
The thing is Volvo lost their safety crown a long time ago to those 35 hour a week working, industrial action initiating, part government owned Frenchies. Renault. Renault consistently set new standards in safety and crash tests, lapping up praise from Euro NCAP. Some of this technical know-how has even trickled into Renault’s partner, Nissan. The Nissan Qashqai (thankfully renamed Rogue in the U.S., although it wasn’t a big improvement) achieved the highest ever Euro NCAP score. But now, it seems, Volvo is fighting back to regain the coveted safety title. (Read More…)
Over the bridge and through the woods till mödrars hus vi gor. When Volvo first started their love affair with jacked up wagons equipped with AWD and some extra ride height, they had two groups in mind: The Swedes that live in rural Sweden with miles of unpaved dirt roads in the forest which turn to mud in the long dark winter, and the American soccer mom who thinks she needs an SUV like vehicle to cross the puddle in the Neiman Marcus parking lot. Thanks to our recently departed leader Robert Farago, we know how the XC60 does on pavement, but since Volvo offered to give us an XC60 for a week, I decided to take a different approach and review the XC60 in the dirt back-roads of coastal northern California and the icy roads of the Sierra Nevada to see if you can actually combine living off the grid and “Scandinavian luxury.”
IP squad, to the front! SinoCast, relying on information from a “top executive of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.” says that Geely will buy 100 percent of Volvo, “including the ownership of existing technologies in the fields of safety and environmental protection, as well as technologies of new car models.”
Before, it was reported that Ford could hold back some sensitive technology, namely new environmental and safety gear. Nothing doing, says Geely. Also, Geely seeks to get their hands on advanced hybrid and electric car technologies jointly developed by Volvo and Vattenfall. (Read More…)
“Ford is trying to get the deal done with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group within the next several weeks,” a Ford spokesman said to Dow Jones Newswire. Ford is sticking with Geely, and is pouring cold water on rumors that Ford is entertaining other bids and bidders.
Sweden’s Dagens Industri had reported on Tuesday that Volvo’s CEO Stephen Odell had intimated that “Ford is open to talk with others. Those who say that the door is shut can go to Ford and talk with them whenever they like.” Looks like it’s wishful thinking. Sure, anybody can talk to Ford (if their call is taken.) But they will receive only one answer: “No.” (Read More…)
We also recognize there is a market (for the Nano) not only in developing countries, but possibly in the developed countries. For the United States we need a car which has a larger engine and we need additional crash test modifications and we are in the process of doing it.
Ratan Tata at today’s India Auto Expo [via Automotive News [sub]], suggesting that the world’s cheapest car could eventually be sold in the US. Fiat is already partnering with Tata to jointly sell the Nano in Latin American markets, so there’s a chance that the Indian city car could eventually show up at Chrysler dealerships.
While Tengzhong is still waiting for government approval for its Hummer purchase, Geely can’t complain about a lack of official prop up for its planned purchase of Volvo from Ford. Geely said today to Reuters that they have strong support from the Chinese government, financial and otherwise.
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Not all too surprisingly, China’s Geely is planning to build a Volvo factory in China once the purchase of Volvo from Ford has closed, Bloomberg reports. The plant will most likely go up in Beijing, but just in case the Beijing government is not providing the adequate support, Geely has two other Chinese cities identified for the facility.
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As predicted various times on TTAC, Volvo has finally been sold to China. Ford said in a statement that it had agreed to all substantial commercial terms in a deal to sell Volvo to China’s Geely Holding Group, parent of Geely Auto, Reuters has on the wire.
“While some work still remains to be completed before signing, Ford and Geely anticipate that a definitive sale agreement will be signed in the first quarter of 2010,” Ford said. Final closing on the deal is expected for Q2 of 2010.
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Two sales of two Swedish car factories are close to the finish line. One may live on happily, but in a foreign land. The other may die from exhaustion. You want the good news or the bad news first? Ok, let’s start with the good news.
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Unfazed by Swedish unions calling for an investigation into the Ford-Volvo-Geely deal, Geely is getting itself ready to swallow the big Swedish fish. The deal is already being feted as episode two of the takeover of international icons by the Chinese.
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Responding to calls by Volvo’s unions for an investigation of Geely, Volvo management is calling the unions’ statements “almost xenophobic.” CEO Stephen Odell, and Personell Manager Björn Sällström of Volvo Cars have sent out letter to their empolyees, urging to modify their attitude towards their potential new employer, Geely. The letter is a response, not only to the unions’ public demand for a Geely investigation, but also the fact that these statements have sparked quite an anti-Chinese-business-methods campaign in readers’ letters to Swedish medias.
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Corresponding with news that Ford and Geely are close to closing the Volvo deal, Volvo’s unions have expressed skepticism towards Geely, even going so far as to ask that the company be investigated. An ownership company based in tax havens, a history of trademark theft, and minimal transparancy have all worried unions within Volvo. Swedish Engineers at Volvo and the Metalworkers have expressed worries over the lack of information regarding Volvo’s future within Geely. “There’s a great information vacuum” says Magnus Sundemo of the Engineers. “We know very little about what the consequences will be if or when Geely takes over Volvo – We need to have more information, and we need reasonable time to examine the information” he continues.
Chinese Gasgoo is quoting Sweden’s Dagens Industri (DI) as saying that Geely will sign a contract later this week for the intellectual property rights of Ford’s Volvo Cars. Let’s hope everybody has their translations right.
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As posted earlier, the American based Crown Consortium finally made an offer, said to be on par with Geely’s, perhaps calculating that Ford will prefer an American buyer to the Chinese. According to Swedish business site di.se Roger Holtback of Crown confirmed to tt.se [sub] that the Crown Consortium has made an offer on Volvo. Geely still has the edge, though: according to Ford Spokesman John Gardiner to Wall Street Journal, Geely is still the “preferred bidder.” But that doesn’t mean it’s exclusive.
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