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LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. automaker Ford is considering selling its Volvo Cars business as it assesses the future of its European operations, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
The review of Volvo was still at a very early stage and may not result in a sale, the source told Reuters, adding that Ford had so far not hired financial advisers for the operation.

"Ford is not in discussions with any company to sell Volvo, however we are continuing to assess options for all our operations," a London-based spokesman for Ford said, while declining to comment further.

Last week, speculation about a Volvo takeover was fuelled by an interview with BMW Chief Financial Officer Stefan Krause in a German newspaper, who had not ruled out takeovers of other carmakers or brands, although he was also quoted as saying any talk of a bid for Volvo Cars was "pure speculation".
The speculation, however, lifted shares in Swedish truck maker Volvo around 5 percent on Thursday and analysts said there was market confusion as investors mixed up the Swedish truck maker with the Ford-owned auto maker.

By Mathieu Robbins

Source: Reuters UK

Black 850

I don't know if it is a good or bad thing that Ford is selling Volvo. I don't think I want Hundai to buy the company.
David.

GoodWill8675

Omg yeah I definitely dont want Hyundai to buy Volvo.
I was sad enough when Ford sold Land Rover and Jaguar!

warrenj

There was talk of Ford selling Volvo but it will not happen now.

sulley007

Is Volvo a profitable business unit for Ford?

danger ranger

if Volvo is sold to BMW....the quality can only get better.
If Tato buys Volvo, like it bought Jag and Land Rover...the Volvo will become more interesting...

If Hyundia buys Volvo, you will have good quality cars for alot cheaper.

just dont sell to any japs

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sulley007

Who would benefit the most from adding Volvo to their line up?

sulley007

Is Fiat now going to buy Ford?

bullitt91

Ford also sold Aston Martin a while back to what, a private buyer?

duminyricky

If Ford is going to sell Volvo, I'm not sure that the brand itself will be able to satisfy the loyal Volvo consumers. It would certainly take a while before they get to arouse the interest again of the people after selling it.

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sulley007

Ford definitely is trying to sell Volvo. Apparently Geely Holding Group a chinese company is a front runner, but there are 2 other undisclosed parties interested. I'd bet that it will be sold this year. It is also rumored that Renault has an interest and I'd also be inclined to think they would be a stronger candidate. I think from being involved with the Atlanta VCOA chapter that the Volvo loyalist will continue. I would think a new buyer will keep it low key and not make any radical changes on the front end.

porschebeater

just hope volvo dosent go bust when sold if sold

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BHart

It's interesting to look at the size of Volvo.

Click on this link Volvo Group : home and pull down the Volvo Group Companies tab.
You'll see how much Volvo Group actually controls and that the cars are a minor part.

What AB Volvo might be doing is waiting for the price to drop significantly before making an offer. Volvo is as Swedish as Ikea and I don't think that they would let the car division fall exclusively into the hands of foreigners.

Here's where Saab is right now; GM?s Saab Closer to Sale as Sweden Seeks EU Approval (Update2) - Bloomberg.com

Opel's deal is a little closer but still mired in side-deals; UK and Spain object to German-run Opel buyout | Business | Deutsche Welle | 10.10.2009

They are all well known, successful marques that were caught up in a globalization take over that has failed. Large companies bought them out for their names and market share. They failed to realize people wanted the product because of what it was, not what is stands for.

This has happened in many other fields too. Electronics companies have been bought for their names. Harmon-Kardon, Boston Acoustics are good examples of former quality producers whose name is now attached to junk. Getrag used to be a name associated with Porsche and BMW racing transmissions. GM bought Getrag and then every Chevy Cavalier had a Getrag 5 speed tranny. Same quality as the BMW box? No, merely the same crap transmission GM used to make in the same factory but now with a newly acquired name.

These companies are money loosers because of creative accounting. Losses from one division are magically shared by prosperous ones, creating an appearance of loss and a subsequent 'need' to cut costs/wages. Sheer financial greed has taken over a business where products were bought for their actual quality and feel.

Fortunaltely, It seems like there are still groups that want to keep the different lines alive and unique. Hopefully they will prevail.

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sulley007

And look at Porsche trying to take over Volkswagen.