Ford has seen little serious interest in its Volvo unit and, according to a new report, the Michigan automaker will slow down its efforts to sell the luxury brand in order to court parties that lose out on the bidding for General Motors’ Opel unit.
GM hopes to have a buyer for Opel announced within the next few weeks, which is when Volvo would likely go back on the market. As there’s no official listing service for automotive assets, it’s hard to tell exactly what Ford wants for Volvo and what would be included in a deal.
The Wall Street Journal cited a source close to Ford , who told the paper to “expect nothing to happen for another three to four weeks.”
The source told the Journal that three players are currently attempting to court the Swedish brand, China’s Geely, China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation and an unnamed European consortium. Ford has apparently been involved in serious talks with Beijing Auto, but it wants to include either Magna International or RHJ in the bidding when one presumably loses the bidding for Opel.
Both Chinese automakers had been rumored bidders for GM’s Saab unit, but the Detroit automaker selected Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg .
