The Sunday Times, citing unnamed sources in London, said the decision to sell Volvo, which is part of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group, was made in the past two weeks, but that the timing of the sale had yet to be decided.
The possible sale of Volvo comes as the company is struggling to return to profitability in the face of fierce competition from Asian automakers and developing tastes for more fuel-efficient models in its key North American market. It is slashing thousands of jobs and plans to close plants to cut costs.
Dearborn-based Ford posted a narrower loss of $282 million for the first quarter. The Premier Automotive Group reported a record pretax profit of $402 million for the quarter, due largely to Volvo.
Although Ford wouldn’t answer any questions about putting Volvo up for sale [over the weekend], they issued a non-denial denial, this morning: A Ford spokesman blathered, ” “To my knowledge, we are not in negotiations with anyone about the future of Volvo.”
oh Ford,
First the Nazi’s and now this…
Big Business 101==get so out of touch you can’t compete anymore, and with reserves from happier times, buy up your competition and then stop their production. Big Three lost me years ago when I could not buy a four on the floor.
I only ever purchased one brand new North American-made car – in 1974.
The entire exhaust system fell off as I was driving it home the first time, the windshield wipers never worked when it was raining, although they worked fine when it was sunny or in the shop for repairs and throughout the life of the car, I had to keep replacing alternators and regulators at least once every year, at considerable cost.
As much as I’d like to support our own industry, I’ve never gotten over the disappointment of my one and only new car.
As far as I can tell, Ford is just carrying on a grand tradition of stupidity and gross incompetence.
Theyre going to focus on their core business: – making poor quality trucks and over-charging for service and spare parts.
(Yes, I own a Ford. When it craps out, (which will be soon) my next car will be a Toyota.)
You can be no wrong buying German or Japanese…
Funny… Weren’t those the crowd that lost WWII and got depleted of brains in the process? Looks that they have them grown back somehow…
Sorry, last post completely uncalled for…
You get a bunch of old school rich farts on a board of directors, and they’re only interested in profit taking and short term goals. It’s up to the shareholders to use some vision, or dispose of the company bit by bit and close the doors. In the not too distant future the Chinese will hit the auto industry and give Japan a fit.
#7 I’m going to have to disagree with you. Old School Rich Farts didn’t get that way by being completely stupid.
This sounds more like some New School MBA’s plan to short term boost the earnings so he can retire at 40 and hit the beach.
#8 – until the last few months, the essential qualification for “leading” Ford Motor Company was – your last name was “Ford”.
#8: You’re quite right. Long-term planning’s gone right out the window. Every company now focuses on the next-quarter results. Idiots.
It figures that Ford would sell the only Premier Automotive Group piece that’s making money. If I were Ford, I’d keep Volvo, stop making Mercurys and Lincolns, and cut down the bewildering number of trucks and god-awful SUVs to a manageable level.
But then, no one asks the car-buying public what they want, do they…
In spite of the departure of Plymouth and Oldsmobile, there are still way too many auto brands in the USA.
Mercury can be shut down completely.
Same with Dodge, except Dodge Trucks. And Dodge Trucks could be integrated with Jeep.
Chevrolet (except Chevy Trucks), Saturn and Pontiac could be combined into no more than two, or even just one brand.
Buick could be reduced to a high-end Chevrolet model or a low-end Cadillac model.
Chevy Trucks and GMAC light trucks/vans could be reduced to one brand.
Meanwhile, Volvo has turned in to a really nice brand. They no longer look like boxes, are still built like tanks, and do well in price/feature comparisons with Lexus, BMW and Jaguar.
#8 – This sounds more like some New School MBA’s plan to short term boost the earnings so he can retire at 40 and hit the beach.
Exactly! Quick cash to go into corporate pockets.
And a few months ago Ford sold Aston Martin, which is currently making its highest profits ever (after Ford poured millions into development and facilities). GM cancelled their Fiat investment 2 years ago and now Fiat is on a tear, profits up 380%. I’m not sure what the American Auto industry is up to.
Year after year, decade after decade, Americans show they prefer the design, style and quality of the imports, and are even willing to pay more money for them, and still the US car companies turn out a pretty shoddy product for the most part. As an American I am ashamed, and have never owned an American car for these reasons.
I am a loyal Volvo owner, I love that my box on wheels can fly by sports cars while going up a mountain loaded with kids, gear, dogs…goes down the mountain even faster, not to shabby for a station wagon. The faster you go, the tighter the car gets…really Mr. CHP, by driving faster I am being safer 😉
I will be a loyal Volvo owner until Ford or whomever make the mistake of tinkering with their design/engineering process. When that day comes, I will be a loyal Audi owner 😉
#8, gig
Yup, gotta agree with ya. Unfortunately, there is much more to the story than just the MBAs though.
Much of it is that the well paid work force has aged and health care costs have skyrocketed. Other industries that used well paid workers have all crashed and burned through buy-outs and bankruptcies caused by cheap imports and deregulations. Those well paid workers were the back bone of the American economy.
#12 – Meanwhile, Volvo has turned in to a really nice brand. They no longer look like boxes…
This transformation started before Ford bought Volvo. Volvo had a joint venture with Mitsubishi, which helped Volvo round off those rough edges.
Weren’t those the crowd that lost WWII and got depleted of brains in the process?
Check out The Marshall Plan…
J/P=?
Or the Space program…
And check American universities in the late 40’s and 50’s
Granted, this transfusion started earlier, and the Nazi Party is the main culprit…
My point is, these are the countries that rebounded most dramatically from physical and economical destruction. Something in their societies is working wright…Or mostly paranoid, you choose.
Anyway, Volvo is great.
Check out PSA in the future too…
http://tinyurl.com/2heh35
and this TurboDiesel 700bhp beauty…