Ford’s Sale Of Volvo Put On Ice

In what sounds like a commonsense move, Ford has announced that it will not be selling Volvo – at least for the time being. Volvo, along with Aston Martin, Jaguar and Landrover were all members of Ford's Premier Automotive Group (PAG) which has been slowly unraveling this year with the sale of Aston and pending sales of Jaguar and Landrover.

Bucking the recent trend to sell what they can for a song, Ford CEO Alan Mulally in a conference-call regarding the company’s third-quarter earnings report, confirmed that Ford will be holding on to Volvo for the time being.

In what must be great news for the folks at Volvo, Mulally has indicated that Ford wants Volvo to operate more independently while achieving greater efficiency by cooperating on product development and purchasing.

“Our plan now is not to sell Volvo but to improve its cost structure and brand positioning. I think we can do substantially better than where we are today. The most important thing we can do in the near-term is improve the cost structure, so that's what we're going to focus on," Mulally said.

Rather than selling Volvo for a song (remember Aston…) Ford will endeavor to enhance Volvo’s position as a global manufacturer of premium vehicles, a shift that is already well under way.

Ford will also disclose Volvo’s financial performance starting in 2008, but it is interesting to note that it confirmed Volvo made a loss in the third quarter of 2007.

Steane

[Source: Automotive News]