Mainland car manufacturer Geely Automobile Holdings has no plans to buy the Volvo car brand from Ford Motor, a Geely spokesman said on Thursday.
“We don’t have plans to buy Volvo as some media have reported,” he said.
Media reports citing sources had earlier on Thursday said Ford, seeking to raise cash to avoid a bailout by the US government, was in preliminary talks to sell its Volvo car unit to Geely.
A spokeswoman for Ford in the mainland declined to comment.
General Motors, owner of Saab and currently on life support from the Federal government to avoid bankruptcy, and Ford are trying to sell some of their assets amid a sharp downturn of the US auto market. In January, the US auto market was overtaken by mainland as the world’s largest in terms of sales.
Industry sources say US auto companies have approached a range of potential buyers in mainland, including SAIC Motor, but deals would be difficult to conclude because of high risks and also as the mainland market is itself losing steam.
Car sales growth in the country slowed to a single digit rate last year for the first time in at least 10 years, spurring government steps to bolster demand.
Executives at other potential buyers such as Changan Automobile Group, Dongfeng Motor Group and Chery Automobile, had said earlier they were monitoring the situation.
But they said they were unlikely to rush into any commitment due to the challenge and risk involved in turning around a global brand given the companies’ limited international exposure.
Geely is a mid-sized car manufacturer, making mostly small sedans. It owns about 23 per cent of Manganese Bronze and 51 per cent of a Shanghai-based joint venture with the UK company.
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Geely denies plans to buy Volvo
Reuters in Shanghai
5 February 2009
Mainland car manufacturer Geely Automobile Holdings has no plans to buy the Volvo car brand from Ford Motor, a Geely spokesman said on Thursday.
“We don’t have plans to buy Volvo as some media have reported,” he said.
Media reports citing sources had earlier on Thursday said Ford, seeking to raise cash to avoid a bailout by the US government, was in preliminary talks to sell its Volvo car unit to Geely.
A spokeswoman for Ford in the mainland declined to comment.
General Motors, owner of Saab and currently on life support from the Federal government to avoid bankruptcy, and Ford are trying to sell some of their assets amid a sharp downturn of the US auto market. In January, the US auto market was overtaken by mainland as the world’s largest in terms of sales.
Industry sources say US auto companies have approached a range of potential buyers in mainland, including SAIC Motor, but deals would be difficult to conclude because of high risks and also as the mainland market is itself losing steam.
Car sales growth in the country slowed to a single digit rate last year for the first time in at least 10 years, spurring government steps to bolster demand.
Executives at other potential buyers such as Changan Automobile Group, Dongfeng Motor Group and Chery Automobile, had said earlier they were monitoring the situation.
But they said they were unlikely to rush into any commitment due to the challenge and risk involved in turning around a global brand given the companies’ limited international exposure.
Geely is a mid-sized car manufacturer, making mostly small sedans. It owns about 23 per cent of Manganese Bronze and 51 per cent of a Shanghai-based joint venture with the UK company.
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