Advertisement

Chinese firm close to Volvo Cars bid: report

Charlotte West
Charlotte West - [email protected]
Chinese firm close to Volvo Cars bid: report

Chinese automaker Geely is putting the finishing touches to a bid to become a majority owner of Volvo Cars as head of a consortium that will also include an undisclosed Swedish investor, Swedish business daily Dagens Industri reports.

Advertisement

The Swedish automaker's current owner Ford Motor Company is likely to remain a minority shareholder.

DI reports that Ford's board of directors is expected to make a final decision regarding the sale in August. A source close to the sale told DI that internal consensus in Ford will determine who will become Volvo Car's new owner.

Under the guidance of British investment bank Rothschild, Geely has presented a comprehensive outline for the future of Volvo Cars. Several former high-ranking Volvo employees, including previous chairman Pehr G Gyllenhammar and former head of Volvo Cars Hans-Olov Olsson, are involved with Rothschild in various capacities.

Sources told DI that Geely is well-prepared to build up Volvo Car's operations in Sweden and Belgium, and would be an important gateway into the Chinese market.

In June, media reports circulated that Geely had reached an initial agreement with Ford for the purchase of Volvo Cars. Several Chinese newspapers reported that Geely Automotive Holdings planned to buy Volvo and produce a new model of the traditional Swedish brand in China’s Guangzhou Province.

At the time, representatives of both Volvo and Geely said they no knowledge of any agreement to sell the Swedish automaker to Geely. Ford also said the reports were merely market speculation and that they continued to discuss the future of Volvo with a number of interested parties.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also