REPORT: Geely agrees to buy Volvo? Ford silent

Any talk of brands for sale in the auto industry invariably includes a Chinese automaker as one potential bidder. As such, it's not surprising to hear that Chinese automaker Geely is reportedly in the running to buy Volvo from Ford. Chinese media, however, have begun reporting that Geely has actually signed a deal with the Dearborn-based automaker to buy the last remaining brand from Ford's now-defunct Premium Auto Group.

Has it actually happened? Both Ford and Volvo have made no official statements that would confirm what's being reported in the Chinese media. Official confirmations usually come after a deal has been widely reported in the media, though. However, the only outlets reporting this rumor are from China. We haven't heard a peep from any Swedish-based news organizations, which is surprising considering they were on the ball last week reporting that Koenigsegg had struck a deal with General Motors to buy Sweden's other big auto brand, Saab.

Swedespeed.com actually asked Volvo if the reports of a sale to Geely were true. James Hope, Volvo's US Product Communications Manager, had this to say.

"An announcement related to the sale of Volvo Car Corp. would only come from Ford Motor Company. As of today [Wednesday, June 17, 2009], neither Ford Motor Company nor Volvo Car Corporation in Sweden has made any announcement regarding the sale of Volvo. Reports of such a sale by any media outlet are speculative and, therefore, are not accurate."

There you have it. If an agreement has been struck by Geely and Volvo's parent company Ford, nobody's except the Chinese are talking about it.

Ford holding talks with Renault regarding Volvo sale?

At this point, Ford's sale of Volvo appears imminent. The only question now is who wants to take the Swedish automaker off the Blue Oval's hands. Last week we told you of a possible sale as early as mid-February, and now Reuters is reporting that the buyer could be Renault. The two automakers allegedly got together in the fall to discuss the outright purchase of Volvo and now, the two have apparently resumed talks.
Volvo and Renault almost combined back in 1993, but management and stockholders at the Swedish automaker were against the merger. Fast forward to 2009, and Volvo is coming off a $1.5 billion loss for 2008, and Ford is draining cash by the bucket. Renault could find a bargain-basement Volvo as a nice fit, considering that it just recently canceled plans to produce a new large car. Volvo's Ford-based large car lineup could slot nicely in Renault's offerings, saving big Euros on development. Some are speculating that Renault, which owns 44% of Nissan, would have Volvo all to itself, though we're sure some sharing between the three automakers is bound to happen if the deal goes down.

Swedish Sell-A-Thon! Ford reconsiders selling 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.


PRESS RELEASE

FORD MOTOR COMPANY ANNOUNCES IT WILL RE-EVALUATE STRATEGIC OPTIONS FOR VOLVO CAR CORPORATION

DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 1, 2008 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced today it will re-evaluate strategic options for Volvo Car Corporation, including the possible sale of the Sweden-based premium automaker.

Ford said the decision to re-evaluate strategic options for Volvo comes in response to the significant decline in the global auto industry particularly in the past three months and the severe economic instability worldwide. The strategic review of Volvo is in line with a broad range of actions Ford is taking to strengthen its balance sheet and ensure it has the resources to implement its product-led transformation plan.

"Given the unprecedented external challenges facing Ford and the entire industry, it is prudent for Ford to evaluate options for Volvo as we implement our ONE Ford plan," said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. "Volvo is a strong global brand with a proud heritage of safety and environmental responsibility and has launched an aggressive plan to right-size its operations and improve its financial results. As we conduct this review, we are committed to making the best decision for both Ford and Volvo going forward."

Ford said the review likely will take several months to complete. In the meantime, Ford will continue working closely with Volvo as it implements its restructuring plan under CEO Stephen Odell, who was appointed to lead Volvo earlier this year.

At the same time, Ford and Volvo will continue to put in place processes that allow Volvo to operate on a more stand-alone basis in the absence of the Premier Automotive Group structure, an effort which began in November 2007 following a previous review by Ford of strategic options for Volvo.

"Outstanding safety, an increased focus on environmentally friendly vehicles and contemporary Scandinavian design will continue to be the foundation upon which we will build a strong Volvo business for the future." Odell said. "We intend to build upon our strong brand heritage and to appeal to our global customers with vehicles like the new XC60 – the safest car Volvo has ever built. Volvo also will introduce seven low-emission models in 2009, giving us the best environmental product range in the premium segment.

"We have a strong brand presence in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region, and are growing in key markets such as China and Russia, where we are the leading premium brand."

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Michigan, United States, manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 224,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

Safe Harbor

Statements included herein may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, forecasts and assumptions by management and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated. We cannot be certain that any expectation, forecast or assumption made by management in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that any projection will be realized. More detailed information about these and other factors that could affect future results is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of their initial issuance, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.


[ Via: Autoblog (Volvo) ]
[ Tag: ford, ford selling volvo, ford sells volvo, ford volvo, FordSellingVolvo, FordSellsVolvo, FordVolvo, volvo ]

Volvo denies reported dealer cuts

A couple days back we received word from Automotive News that Volvo was looking to downsize its dealer body by 30 percent in an effort to cut costs. The Swedish automaker says that isn't going to happen. PR VP Geno Effler said that while Volvo doesn't plan to cut almost a third of its 350 US dealers, it will try to persuade its struggling dealers to call it quits. The problem with Volvo's denial is that we'd heard about Volvo closing a significant amount of dealers way back in December, before the car market took it's most recent nose dive.
With Volvo sales down 14 percent for the year and constant talk about a Ford/Volvo split, we wouldn't be surprised if there are more than a handful of dealers in need of coercion. Not that the prodigious dip in sales volume has everything to do with dealers, either. Volvo's lineup isn't exactly fresh or fuel efficient, which spells disaster in this vehicle market.

[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: dealer closings, DealerClosings, ford, Volvo ]

Volvo's suitor of the week: China's Chery

Following up on our report last month about Volvo possibly going to the Chinese, state media is now reporting that Chery Automobile, one of the largest independent and fastest growing Chinese auto manufacturers, has its eyes on the Swedish automaker. Although officials at Chery rule out the possibility of buying Volvo, other sources have stated that the Chinese automaker has already negotiated funding for a possible acquisition. If so, that funding will be significant-insiders put Volvo's value at 30 billion yuan (about $4.4 billion dollars). This isn't the first time that Ford has been rumored to be cashing-out on Volvo... however, it was just two months ago that Ford officials reiterated that Volvo was not for sale. We wouldn't bet our yuan on it.

[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: Chery, Chery Automotive Group, CheryAutomotiveGroup, China, Chinese, Ford selling Volvo, FordSellingVolvo, Sale, Suitor, Volvo ]

Ford ties Toyota in Strategic Vision 2008 Total Quality Awards

Strategic Vision has announced the results of its annual Total Quality Awards and is touting the performance of Ford this year versus perennial powerhouse Toyota. Both brands have three vehicles each that lead their segments, which include the Edge, Mustang Convertible and F-250/350 for Ford and Toyota's Yaris, 4Runner and Sequoia. The Volvo C30 also led the Small Specialty under $25,000 segment and the Mercury Sable the Large Car category, while the Scion xB was tops in the Small Multi-Function segment and the Lexus RX350 tied with the Land Rover LR2 in the Near Luxury SUV segment. Though all of those brands are technically owned by either Ford Motor Company or Toyota North America, none were counted by Strategic Vision in the battle of the Blue Oval versus the Japanese Juggernaut, though the automakers still would've tied if they were (if Land Rover were not counted as owned by Ford). Meanwhile, the Medium Car segment was lead by the Volkswagen Jetta, though the new Chevy Malibu jumped to second place (how are the Jetta and Malibu in the same segment?), and Honda had only one car make the list, with the Odyssey being named the best Minivan. Follow the jump to view the leaders of all 19 segments.
While most surveys like this count objective stats like the number of problems encountered during initial ownership, Strategic Vision introduces additional criteria by which to judge vehicle quality like the buying experience, what it's like to own a particular car, its performance and driving and even exterior and interior styling. There's a lot of subjectivity in those additional criteria, which tends to skew the results as a whole regardless of the 20,655 buyer-strong sample pool that was surveyed on the 2008 vehicles it bought during September, October and November of last year. Also, as we were reminded by this post, keep in mind that most automakers are actually clients of Strategic Vision, Ford and Toyota included, so there's also money passing hands between these companies. The appearance of conflicts of interest notwithstanding, new car buyers love lists and automakers work hard to land on them, so you decide for yourself how much weight to give to Strategic Vision's 2008 Total Quality Awards.


PRESS RELEASE

The 2008 Total Quality Awards™
Ford vs. Toyota: The Battle for Total Quality Intensifies, Reports Strategic Vision

For immediate release - Wednesday, May 28, 2008

San Diego – Toyota and Ford tied for leading in the most segments on Strategic Vision's Total Quality Index™ (TQI), leading with three vehicles each. Toyota lead with its Yaris, 4Runner and Sequoia while Ford lead with the Edge, Mustang Convertible and F-250/350. The San Diego based research firm today announced the 2008 results that are based on the ratings by new vehicle owners in 19 product segments.

Toyota Motor Sales had two additional leaders with the Scion xB and the Lexus RX 350 (which tied with Land Rover's LR2); while Ford Motor Company added two additional wins with the Mercury Sable and Volvo C30. "Ford is back, establishing its vehicle quality in the hearts and minds of its customers," says Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision's automotive division. "The Ford Edge is one of the vehicles Ford can be proud of. By careful attention to key areas such as exterior styling, workmanship and performance, (which are the cues that signal quality for crossover customers), Ford is building vehicles that also build brand equity and perceived customer quality."

The Total Quality Index™ is the premier measure of new vehicle owner satisfaction. It asks buyers to rate all aspects of the ownership experience, from buying and owning to performance and driving. It is much more than simply counting problems. "Innovation and thoughtfulness in functionality and design, keeping in mind how the customer will interact and use the vehicle, is essential," reports Dr. Darrel Edwards, Founder and CEO of Strategic Vision. "Vehicles like the Volvo C30 and Toyota Sequoia are both terrific examples of providing customers with this 'functional luxury' in a very stylish design suggesting quality both on the inside and out."

Mercedes, Honda and Chevrolet brands each had two leaders: Mercedes leading with the S-Class and SL, Honda with the Odyssey and Ridgeline, and Chevrolet with the Corvette Convertible and a tie with itself in full size trucks between the Avalanche and Silverado. From three leads last year, Hyundai took the lead in only one segment this year with its Santa Fe in one of the most competitive automotive segments, the Smaller SUVs. The Volkswagen Jetta, Chrysler 300C and BMW X5 were each TQI leaders. Also worthy of mention is the redesigned Chevrolet Malibu, now second in the highly competitive Medium Car segment.

"Over the past quarter century in the US, customer perceptions of quality of domestic and Asian manufacturers underwent large swings. Today, it doesn't matter if you are a Toyota or a Ford, BMW or Hyundai, each manufacturer has the opportunity and mandate to produce a product with the right Cues of Quality - those product attributes that signal quality and create customer Trust - and present vehicles that have a greater impact on the purchase decision," says Alexander Edwards.

Buyers rated the following vehicles tops in their segments:

Segment Winner(s) TQI Score
Small Car Toyota Yaris 860
Small Multi-Function Scion xB 876
Medium Car Volkswagen Jetta 911
Large Car Mercury Sable 877
Small Specialty Under $25,000 Volvo C30 T5 Hatchback 908
Near Luxury Car Chrysler 300C 927
Luxury Car Mercedes-Benz S-Class Sedan* 950
Convertibles Under $30,000 Ford Mustang Convertible 896
Convertibles Over $30,000 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible*, Mercedes-Benz SL 940/939
Minivan Honda Odyssey 864
Small SUV Hyundai Santa Fe* 866
Medium Crossover Ford Edge 877
Medium SUV Toyota 4Runner 891
Large SUV Toyota Sequoia 897
Near Luxury SUV Lexus RX 350*, Land Rover LR2 913/912
Luxury SUV BMW X5 907
Standard Pick-Up Honda Ridgeline* 878
Large Pickup Chevrolet Avalanche 1500, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 880/880
Heavy Duty Pickup Ford F-250/350 863

*2007 Total Quality Award™ winner

The Total Quality Index™ was calculated from the responses of 20,655 buyers who bought 2008 models in September, October and November of 2007. Strategic Vision has presented Total Quality annually since 1995.

Since its incorporation in 1989, Strategic Vision has studied consumer and constituent decision-making for the widest variety of clients, including most auto manufacturers, Coca-Cola, American Airlines, Procter and Gamble, as well as for most advertising agencies. Its unique expertise is identifying consumers' motivational hierarchies, including the values that shape perceptions and capture the customers' emotional responses and drive behavior. The firm's in-depth Discovery Interviews and ValueCentered Surveys provide comprehensive, integrated and actionable outcomes.

[ Via: Strategic Vision ]
[ Tag: ford quality, FordQuality, strategic vision, strategic vision tot..., StrategicVision, StrategicVisionTot..., toyota quality, ToyotaQuality ]

Ford to make fewer Volvos, possibly in prep for sale

Volvo, once the success story in Ford's Premier Automotive Group, has hit choppy waters. And according to Wall Street Journal insiders, Ford is preparing to treat the Swedish automaker the same way it did the English ones: slap some floaties on it and keep the brand bobbing long enough to sell it.
Volvo made $94 million in profit in Q1 of 2007, but lost $151 million in Q1 of this year. In total, over the past two years, the once smiling Swede has lost $1.7 billion, part of which is due to exchange rates, and another is due to selling fewer cars. To combat the decline, Volvo is shedding up to a third of its work force at one European plant, and cutting back on production at another. As you would suspect, both of those plants make the largest vehicles in Volvo's lineup.
A couple of weeks ago, Ford was intriguingly -- or deceitfully -- still in "Volvo's not for sale" mode. Now it appears that Mulally has admitted to some Ford execs that Volvo is about to wear the "Needs a Caring Home" sign. Jerry York, the right hand man of Kirk Kerkorian, maintains that Volvo will probably be sold in 18 months. The way things look now, we'd be surprised if it took that long.

[ Via: Yahoo! ]
[ Tag: ford, manufacturing, plants, volvo, volvo factories, volvo factory, volvo losses, volvo production, volvo sale, volvo sales, VolvoFactories, VolvoFactory, VolvoLosses, VolvoProduction, VolvoSale, VolvoSales ]

New Jersey bound: Volvo going back to the Garden State

After years of hanging out in the California sun, Volvo is headed back to Jersey. The move comes as Ford is nearly finished selling its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, which means the Blue Oval no longer has enough tenants to justify paying for a facility in SoCal. Ford's Swedish brand is going to re-merge its living quarters with its service center in Rockleigh, NJ, and Dearborn will save plenty of cash as a result. One interesting aspect of the move is the impact it will have on Volvo's workforce. Nissan lost quite a few of its people when it moved to Tennessee, and with a drastic move from California to New Jersey, we imagine there are quite a few Californians uninterested in living the Jersey lifestyle.

[ Via: The Car Connection ]
[ Tag: California Move, CaliforniaMove, Ford, Volvo ]

Ford PAG abandoning California HQ

After setting up its Premium Automotive Group back in the late '90s, Ford built the luxury über-division an award-winning, shiny new facility in Irvine, California in 2001, far away from the parent company's influence in Dearborn, Michigan, as the American hub for the predominantly European group. Since then, however, PAG has been slowly dwindling away, as Lincoln was separated from the group, Aston Martin was recently sold off and Jaguar and Land Rover are on the verge of departure, as well. Once those two brands are gone, only Volvo will remain. Now the last remaining PAG constituent is moving its U.S. operations to Rockleigh, New Jersey.The shift to the East Coast for Volvo is expected to cut overhead and increase the overlap in working hours with PAG's headquarters in England and Volvo HQ in Sweden, but puts another nail in the coffin of former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser's grand vision of a profit-generating luxury enterprise. Witness one more burned-out star saying goodbye to Hollywood.

[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: ]

VIDEO: Volvo's 81-year history in 9 minutes

Volvo has been making automobiles since April 14, 1927, and while most of us know Volvo for its safe and sometimes fun-to-drive vehicles, the Swedish automaker's history is of course more complicated than that. For instance, Volvo earned its reputation as a safe automaker before it sold a single car by getting in a head-to-head accident with an American car, which totaled the domestic while only scratching the Volvo. Volvo also featured the first standard three-point safety belt and was the first automaker to have a catalytic converter. Hit the jump to catch up on Volvology. It's a very solid nine-minute Volvo history course, even if it fails to mention current owner Ford all-together.

[ Via: YouTube ]
[ Tag: 240, 850, Ford, Rally Racing, RallyRacing, Sweden, Volvo History, VolvoHistory ]

Ford stock up thanks to Kerkorian, Volvo remains "not for sale"

Kirk Kerkorian's associate Jerry York stated last Thursday that Ford would do well to sell Volvo and extinguish Mercury. Coincidentally (or not) Ford's stock zoomed up to one of the highest price levels it's seen in the last six months. Tracinda Corporation, Kerkorian's firm, has expressed faith in Mulally's leadership and his plan to strengthen the automaker. There has been speculation about a sale of Volvo in the past, and punditry has been begging the Blue Oval to do something with Mercury, or put it out of its misery, for years.
While York seems certain that Volvo will be on the market in less than two years time, Ford continues to state that the Swedish subsidiary is not for sale. Looking at the Premier Auto Group shuffle of the last year, though, it could certainly be deduced that Volvo will indeed go on the market soon. Moving the brand out of the PAG location in Irvine, CA and back to Rockleigh, NJ, where Volvo had set up shop when it first started selling cars in the United States, is a move that set off whispers of impending sale. While it might be nothing more than right-sizing office space for Volvo now that the rest of the Premier Auto Group is gone, a cross country move is a deft way to trim operational fat without layoffs, and divorcing Volvo's North American operations from Ford locations makes an ownership transition easier, too. While Ford and Volvo products share a lot of engineering and parts, a well-negotiated deal wouldn't preclude a sale that gently phases out the currently entwined platforms as they age and replacements are brought to market.

[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: ford, ford motor company, ford pag, ford premier auto group, ford stock, FordMotorCompany, FordPag, FordPremierAutoGroup, FordStock, kirk kerkorian, kirk kerkorians tra..., kirk kirkorkian, KirkKerkorian, KirkKerkoriansTra..., KirkKirkorkian, premier auto group, PremierAutoGroup, tracinda, tracinda corp, tracinda corp., TracindaCorp, TracindaCorp., volvo, volvo sale, VolvoSale ]