Zhejiang Geely Holding, the parent company of Geely Automotive, is confident it will win control of Volvo, according to the head of the Chinese company.
Geely Holding is heading a consortium that includes both domestic and foreign banks and is the lead bidder for the Swedish car firm.
During a business event in Shanghai, chairman Li Shufu told Reuters that the talks were still at an early stage and were proceeding at a cautious pace. "There are lots of details and we're taking our time," he said.
Geely Holding is bidding instead of Geely Automotive, which is a seperate car manufacturer, in an effort to reassure Volvo's owner Ford that there will be no crossover of parts. Ford will be keen to ensure Volvo continues as a manufacturer in its own right and is not stripped of intellectual property.
bidding for Volvo is an effort to reassure owner Ford that there will be no crossover between Volvo and Geely Automotive over concerns about intellectual property.
Volvo already builds over 6000 S40 and S80 long-wheelbase models in China as part of a collaboration with Chang'an Motors in Chongqing, China, and around 6000 C30, C70, XC60 and XC90 models are imported.
According to a Geely spokesman Volvo may be able to benefit from the sales network of Geely in China to improve its profile, but no technology crossover is “envisaged”.
However Paul Newton, a leading analyst at Global Insight, warned that Geely could have an interest in Volvo’s advanced technology.
“They claim this is to do with the Geely Group Holding, but that sounds like semantics,” he said.
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