Ford Discusses Volvo Sale With Potential Buyers

While Ford has officially had Volvo under strategic review since late last year, the American carmaker has yet to confirm its specific plans for the Swedish brand.

There have been numerous reports of Ford's intent to sell to "strengthen its balance sheet" and numerous reports of possible buyers for the brand. But Ford has remained relatively tight-lipped about its options for Volvo... until now. This week, Ford announced that it is holding talks with suitors for the  company.

Among the contenders for the purchase of Volvo, Chinese brand Chery has been given the official green-light from the Chinese government to place a bid. Other interested parties have not yet been revealed though.

Ford’s European Director of Strategic Communications, John Gardiner said, “We’ve had contacts with a number of parties who’ve expressed interest concerning the future of Volvo. We’ve had preliminary discussions to determine the level of interest (...) and we’re now talking in more detail to those parties about the future for Volvo.”

Ford is expected to be seeking as close as possible to the USD$6.45 billion it originally paid for Volvo. Given the current economic conditions and the downturn in sales being felt across the board, interested parties will likely find plenty of room for negotiation.

So far, no timeline for the sale has been given, but, given the state of its ledgers, Ford will likely aim to expedite things pretty swiftly.