Volvo is not a subsidiary of
Ford India any more. It has emerged as a separate company in India.
The Indian arm of the Swedish company has severed its ties with Ford India. This is a result of Ford Motor Company planning to sell Volvo Cars to potential buyer
Chinese car maker Geely.
Volvo Cars India has changed its name to
Volvo Auto India Pvt Ltd.
In 1999, Ford had acquired Volvo Cars from
Volvo AB as part of its Premier Automotive Group, which then included
Aston Martin,
Jaguar and
Land Rover. Volvo had begun operations in India in March last year as a subsidiary of Ford India, with all backend operations being handled by Ford.
Former
Volvo Cars India has seven dealerships in the country which will increase to twelve by end 2010. The new dealerships will come up in Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Goa and Coimbatore. The company has sold about 100 units between March and December last year and sales for the current year is close to doubling. The luxury segment has grown by 20 per cent in India, whereas Volvo has grown by 23 per cent.
The Swedish luxury car major has plans to launch a
luxury Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) XC60 and a
sedan S60 in India. Currently, it sells its top-end
S80 sedan, the
C70 and the
XC90 in the Indian market. A diesel variant of the S80 is due next month.
Labels: Geely, Volvo-Cars, Volvo-S80
As we all know
Volvo is under the hammer for the last few months. And
Ford Motor Company is on the way of hunting a suitable bidder for its European luxury brand Volvo that Ford acquired for $6.4 billion in 1999.
Ford has revealed that
China's Zhejiang Geely Group Holding Co. Ltd. is its preferred bidder for its Swedish car subsidiary Volvo.
Geely is famous for making the cheapest cars in China, but of late it has been moving towards appealing to more affluent customers.
The American car major said it would enter "detailed and focused" negotiations with Geely, although no final decision about Volvo's future had been taken.
Last month Geely announced that it was intending to make an offer for Volvo.
Ford believes Geely has the potential to be a responsible future owner of Volvo and to take the business forward while preserving its core values and independence. Although Ford said it would not retain a shareholding after any sale, it said it would continue to co-operate with Volvo "in several areas". These would include component supply, engineering and manufacturing.
Volvo was part of Fords’ Premier Automotive Group. Premier Automotive Group was formed in 1999 and comprised of
Aston Martin,
Jaguar Land Rover brands. Last year, Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover to
Tata Motors and it sold Aston Martin to a UK-led investment consortium in 2007.
Labels: Ford-Motor-Company, Ford-Motors, Geely, New-Car-Launches, Volvo
