Ford sells its Volvo brand to Geely of China

Ford has finally decided to get rid of its Volvo brand. The American company got into an agreement to sell Volvo and related assets to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group of China for Rs 815 crore. The sale is officially expected to be closed by the third quarter of 2010. Much of this time will be consumed in getting permissions from governments in countries where the Swedish brand has presence.

Ford is completely selling off the Volvo brand, and will not keep any of the shares with it. Ford, that bought Volvo in 1999 hasn’t been able to make much of the deal, as the Swedish brand has not made any money since 2005.

As a part of the deal, Ford will keep supplying Volvo critical components. Ford will also reportedly provide support in terms of engineering, IT and other areas before the Chinese company could manage these things all by itself. The deal also includes the use of some of Ford’s intellectual property rights by Volvo and Geely.

Commending on the development, Alan Mulally, Ford’s president and CEO said “Volvo is a great brand with an excellent product line-up. This agreement provides a solid foundation for Volvo to continue to build its business under Geely’s ownership. At the same time, the sale of Volvo will allow us to further sharpen our focus on building the Ford brand around the world.”

 

Geely Chairman Li Shufu, on the occasion, said, Shufu said: "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Ford, enabling us to safeguard and strengthen Volvo's renowned brand heritage. This transaction will ensure Volvo's continued leadership in the premium segment, where it enjoys a global reputation for safety and environmental-friendly technologies. As part of the proposed transaction, Zhejiang Geely Holdings will maintain the strong collaborative relationships that Volvo has built with employees, unions, suppliers, dealers and above all, customers. On completion, Volvo Cars will be a separate company with its own management team based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and a new board of directors."

Geely has raised the loan for this deal from banks in China, USA and Europe, and loans guaranteed by the governments of Sweden and Belgium. First impressions suggest that production of Volvos will continue in Sweden and Belgium to stay closer to the supplier chain and the main market.

Volvo XC60 arrives - Homologation commences

Delivering on its commitment, Swedish luxury car maker Volvo Auto India brings Volvo XC60 to India as per plans. The car arrived on the Indian shores last week and has been handed over for homologation.

Volvo XC60, expected to be launched in India in the first half of the year, is the first vehicle in a new generation of the contemporary cross-over segment. The Volvo XC60 brings together all the safety knowledge which the company has built up over more than 80 years - making it one of the safest car across all categories.

According to Mr. Paul de Voijs, Managing Director, Volvo Auto India, "As a concentrated step towards building our brand in India, in the first two years, we focussed our efforts towards laying a strong foundation. 2010 is the year wherein we will strengthen our position further and the launch of Volvo XC60 is a step in that direction."

The new Volvo XC60 boasts of an exciting mix of two car styles - down below the capable XC muscles are pumped up, creating a strong athletic body mated with high ground clearance and large wheels. Up above, the flowing lines create the sporty charisma. It is charged with more emotive form and more energy than any other Volvo. The company has elevated its design DNA to an entirely new level by literally turning up the visual volume.

by Motoroids

World’s first Pedestrian Detection System

The Geneva Motor Show will showcase many new cars which are very much awaited this year. One of these badly awaited cars is the S60 from the Swedish car manufacturer – Volvo. “The sporty design delivers a visual promise of enthusiastic driving characteristics and I can assure you that the all-new S60 truly lives up to that promise. Its driving properties are better than those of any previous Volvo. What is more, the car's innovative new technologies help you become both a better and a safer driver,” says Stephen Odell, Volvo Cars President and CEO.

Along with an all-wheel-drive (AWD) system and a powerful and fuel efficient engine, the S60 has something more innovative to offer. The world’s first pedestrian detection system will be featured of the Volvo S60. The pedestrian detection system would be a boon for countries with crowded streets. The life-saving system has the unique ability to detect people walking in front of the car. It is obvious that in case the driver fails to react to an emergency situation, the system will take charge by applying full braking power to avoid a collision with the pedestrian.

The system consists of a camera-radar technology which helps detect pedestrians in the path of the car. A newly-developed radar will be integrated in the cars grille while the camera will be positioned in the front of the interior rear view mirror. The radar plays the role of detecting objects in front of the car along with information regarding its distance from the car. It is the camera’s responsibility to determine what the objects in front of the car are.

“We are truly proud of our success in making our technology so reliable that we can offer a complete system that can avoid a collision with a pedestrian by detecting, alerting and applying full braking. It's a world first, to the best of our knowledge. With this technology we have increased the braking force in our automatic braking system from fifty percent to full stopping power,” says Thomas Broberg, senior safety advisor at Volvo Cars.

Volvo S80 Luxury Sedan launched in India

Volvo India has made a fast start into the New Year by launching the new generation S80 in the Indian market. It is housed with the D5 Twin Turbo, 2.4 litre diesel engine and Peizo high pressure technology which takes engine's performance, fuel efficiency and refinements to an entirely new level. The engine is believed to churn out 205 Bhp and 420Nm of max torque over a wide range of engine revs. The Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for the car stands at 13.1 kmpl and 203gms/km respectively. This state-of-the-art engine delivers a plush drive.

The revamped Volvo S80 boasts new entertainment features like the Dolby Pro Logic II Dynaudio surround system, Integrated GSM Phone, Rear Seat Entertainment, Road & Traffic Information (RTI) and a Park Assist Camera. Safety features includes the Intelligent Driver Information System (IDIS), Personal Car Communicator (PCC), Adaptive Brake Light (ABL), Dynamic Stability Traction Control (DSTC), Whiplash Protection System (WPS), Side Impact Protection System (SIPS) and also a transversely installed engine like the rest of the Volvo range.

The new Volvo S80 will come with a price tag of Rs. 38.79 lakhs (ex-showroom, Mumbai) and Rs. 37 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi) and will be available in nine colour options.

Volvo's new car line-up for India

Volvo has decided to enrich its existing product portfolio for India. The Scandanavian manufacturer will be launching the latest variant of its luxury sedan S80, premium utility vehicle XC60 and the S60 sedan in the country. The new S80 will be powered by a twin turbo, Euro V compliant, diesel engine. Volvo Auto India has not revealed the pricing of its soon to be launched cars but said it will be announced closer to their launch early next year.

According to Paud de Vojis, Managing Director, Volvo, the first batch of containers carrying the new S80 sedans is on its way to India and should be here around the time of the Delhi Auto Show. He further said that Swedish manufacturer will be focusing its resources towards the new car launches planned for 2010 and are working towards expanding their product portfolio in India with the proposed launch of Volvo XC60 in the first half of 2010. He also commented that the XC60 and the S60 are good products for the Indian market.

Paud de Vojis further stated that the luxury car market in India, comprising of cars priced above Rs.24-25 lakh has grown at 11% this year while Volvo Auto India has grown at 16%. He revealed that Volvo Auto India sold 900 cars last year and expects to beat the 10% increase it had earlier projected this year. Speaking on behalf of Volvo cars he said that the manufacturer has decided internally to not participate at the upcomming Delhi Auto Show.