Volvo's sale to Chinese car maker Geely is imminent, according to reports.
Talks between the two sides are said to be ongoing in London, but a deal is reported to be close. However, even if it is signed, the reports suggest it may not be announced until after Christmas.
Volvo Cars was founded in the Swedish city of Gothenburg in 1927 and hase 22,000 employees worldwide, around 16,000 of whom work in Sweden.
Ford announced last December it wanted to sell Volvo, which it bought in a $6.4 billion deal in 1999.
The US company picked Geely in October as preferred bidder for Volvo.
Geely last month said it had reached an agreement with Ford to own the intellectual property rights on Volvo's key technologies, including those related to safety and the environment.
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Re: Volvo sale 'imminent'
Not if they keep Volvo in Sweden and the R&D, and then the real thing is to partner with the likes Ford for R&D and pooling design etc. Unlike Rover which had nothing bar some way of making very old Honda's or re skinned BMW in the case of the 75 look 'new', Volvo has a lot of tech and should have a good future. James.
Re: Volvo sale 'imminent'
Well, I would rather see Volvo close now, rather than suffer as SAAB under the GM years. Would you buy a Chinese developed Volvo? I would never do, in the same way that fewer and fewer people were prepared to buy a GM diluted and stagnat SAAB. At least GM preserved SAAB's heritage by selling the intellectual property, but not the image, so that it dies a dignified death. A Geely Volvo would be unsaleable, and its heritage will simply disappear into insignifigance, the same way that MG and Rover are no longer remembered for their early achievements, but for their later automootive disasters. I can see Volvo staggering into the future, as with SAAB, with old platforms and the engineering intergrity diluted, reaching a point when no-one would want them and nothing left in their image. Hope I am proven wrong.
Re: Volvo sale 'imminent'
It's interesting how these things always seem to happen around Christmas time. What is it about large companies laying off staff and/or selling subsidiaries at Christmas???
Not just the automotive industry, seems to be a recurring theme everywhere. Do negotiations get concluded because all the execs want to have it resolved before they head off on holidays, and have the news reports all over the papers while they are off in the Caymans until New Year?