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.



07/30, 12:28 PM
posted by:
A4
If they wanted Volvo bad enough they wouldn’t be bidding on Opel. It’s like if Madonna wanted to adopt another black one, but they were all out, so she was like – “eh fine, gimmie onea them tan ones, close enough”.
07/30, 12:32 PM
posted by:
carmaster4ever
A4 bad comparison and very offensive
volvo should stay with ford if not they should be sold to koenigsegg like saab was the volvo lineup is actually nice and hope they dont fall off the face of the earth like pontiac
07/30, 12:44 PM
posted by:
FSVT_ROCK
I really do think Ford should keep Volvo, and bring the R Design in to Volvo too. I have seen couple R Design Volvo it was very nice, but you can’t buy it from the dealer. R Design is like SVT/Ford Racing or Mugen from Honda.
07/30, 12:52 PM
posted by:
CJ-XKR
A4 .. dont know how taht offended carmaster. im mixed…n i thought the analogy was funny!
07/30, 12:56 PM
posted by:
carmaster4ever
CJ im mixed too.. and?
lol somethings that maybe funny to others may be offensive to others as well.. i find it absurd that he used this comparison of madonna adopting black babies to cars…
07/30, 1:00 PM
posted by:
A4
sorry next time i’ll use more asian ones.
07/30, 1:00 PM
posted by:
carmaster4ever
how bout none at all .. im not tryna be mean or anything just come on.. it wasnt called for lol
07/30, 1:21 PM
posted by:
Bankruptcy2009
Well as Kenny Rogers say. You got to know when to Hold em know when to fold em know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your Money when you sitting at the table (Bidding) their be time enough for counting when the Dealings Done! Every Gambler knows that the secret to surviving is knowing what to throw away and knowin what to keep. So I tihnk its probably a good idea that Ford get what they can out of Volvo while they still have them and get the maximum value for em before selling them off.
07/30, 1:33 PM
posted by:
slider5634
Honestly, I think something is gonna have to give here. Either sell Volvo or axe Mercury and shoe in Volvo — same cars at lower prices — between Lincoln and Ford.
Mercury really isn’t going anywhere fast right now; especially with Volvo in the mix. It just seems like the Volvo products kind of line up somewhere between Mercury and Lincoln right now — Mercury car segment with near Lincoln pricing. I don’t have any issue with either company, but it’s gonna have to be one or the other.
And axing Lincoln right now doesn’t seem like a good idea. I can’t see Volvo taking Lincolns place with the pace and direction each company is on.
07/30, 1:59 PM
posted by:
DenverGuy217
I’d rather see Volvo stay and Lincoln depart. Volvo has a much broader and more comprehensive vehicle line up, adds global sales and brings engineering talent and development technology to the fold. Lincoln brings umm livery sales?
07/30, 2:08 PM
posted by:
Borat
There is nothing for Ford to sell. Note, that there was plenty of activity and interest in Opel and was some interest in Saab, not so much in Volvo. Opel has enough distinctive architecture and models to sustain as independent company, Saab has 9-3 and 9-5 which are not tremendously popular lately, but can be developed further. What does Volvo has unique, that Ford does not sell as Ford in Europe? Nada, zilch.
carmaster4ever, ignore A4, he is just a Masshole, can’t help himself.
07/30, 2:16 PM
posted by:
DenverGuy217
LOL Masshole. I used to be one of those, but I got smart and moved….
07/30, 2:29 PM
posted by:
carmaster4ever
LOL @ BORAT and DENVER
07/30, 2:38 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Ford’s just trying to match the pace of Volvo drivers.
07/30, 2:47 PM
posted by:
Borat
Johnny, in UK they dropped VOlvo turbo 5 cylinders into all hot hatchbacks and sedans with oval on’em. Why in gods name would you spend another 10 grand (pounds!) on Volvo? IN Europe crowd is less label driven. US alone even with 40% of all sold Volvo cars can’t help Volvo.
07/30, 2:49 PM
posted by:
Bankruptcy2009
I think Volvo without a doubt has much more significant product than puny SAAB. SAAB which is built with Paper wall thin body sides that can be compared to the old VW BUS and Beetle which in itself is a Death trap waiting to happen, not to mention the fact last time I sat in a brand new SAAB it has one of the Fugliest Dashboards going its acres of Plastic Model made Dashboards on your typical SAAB products are gross. Their not engineering FLying cars but tins can that could be considered death Traps. Meanwhile Volvo is Heavy in Heavy Equipment, Marine outboard and watercraft, and I don’t call products like the XC/60.70.or the 90 undistiguishable. I personallythink that if Volvo has a problem its to the market they appeal to most. The C30 is ok. I think the model its use to compete with is the BMW Mini which should have stamp on drivers forehead I’m a moron I want to tell you I went to Europe and now I think I am driving in Europe in a Mini. If you want to go to Europe then stay in Europe. This is not Europe.
07/30, 2:52 PM
posted by:
Bankruptcy2009
I am not finished Volvo is the Forefront Leader in Safety where is SAAB ah bankrupt and owned by Koeniggs as small Swedish Specialized niche car company that operates with a better business model Borat
07/30, 3:03 PM
posted by:
greg
Ford has taken all the value out of Volvo, so its time to dump it and move on and concentrate on Ford and Lincoln, Mercury maybe gone soon too…, just waiting for more product to fill Lincolns pipeline.
07/30, 3:28 PM
posted by:
A4
I’ve only been a masshole for a year, its okay.
07/30, 3:59 PM
posted by:
leftwingagenda
but an asshole for much, much longer
07/30, 5:11 PM
posted by:
Borat
^^^Amen! (?)
07/30, 7:06 PM
posted by:
elviososa
Ford should really keep the Volvo.
07/30, 7:09 PM
posted by:
elviososa
Masshole……so this is the new term in English…cool!
07/30, 9:20 PM
posted by:
Borat
Translation: masshole is just an ordinary ass hole anywhere else in 49 states but Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
07/30, 10:40 PM
posted by:
Veda
Right, Lincoln should die and Volvo should stay but it seems that Ford is in desperate need of cash so they’re willing to sell what they think could fetch an interest. It’s weird that nobody seems interested in Volvo. I guess the Chinese could be using a delay tactic to get it cheaper.
07/31, 12:09 AM
posted by:
twintornados
Volvo is an enigma in the auto world….looked upon as upscale, yet not luxury. Ford will hopefully retain a minority interest in the company to retain some of Volvos’ safety cashe….I have always said that Ford should license Volvo technology into the Blue Oval lineup….Ford Taurus with Volvo whiplash prevention seats (tag sewn into the seams of the front and rear seats) and really promote the safety of the new Fords. Just a thought…
07/31, 6:09 AM
posted by:
Bankruptcy2009
Hey TwinForceTornadoes. I agree with implementation of Volvo’s safety technology and that is What Ford has done is take Volvo’s crash sensing radar and employed that on Ford and Lincoln Vehicles.
07/31, 6:11 AM
posted by:
Bankruptcy2009
But Volvo is an Innovator. Like Toyota or Honda is to Japanese Cars, or a Mercedes Benz( AHem) Stealing Tesla’s Tech) is to German Engineering. Ve License it Ya Vol!
07/31, 10:20 AM
posted by:
VictorRaikkonen
I found CJ-XKR inability to not only type, but proof read much funnier than A4’s sad excuse for a ‘joke’.
That said I agree with Veda’s statement to an extent. Rather than allowing ‘Lincoln [to] die’, Ford should have ceased production of the ever pointless Mercury line, and retained Lincoln and Volvo. Further, they should have retained the geniuses behind Jaguar’s redesign for the Lincoln brand, rather than letting go off to Tata.
07/31, 12:50 PM
posted by:
A4
Thats right, I’m now an exceptional asshole.
07/31, 11:29 PM
posted by:
erkdaklrk
I don’t care who owns them as long as they’re still built in Sweden.