Volvo, which is bigger and healthier than its Swedish rival, may be sold to Geely, China's biggest privately owned carmaker.
For example, Jaguar Land Rover was acquired by Tata motor (India) in 2008 and Volvo was sold to Geely Automobile in China in 2010.
But with an election in September and Ford's sale of Volvo to Geely, a Chinese carmaker, imminent, it concluded that keeping Saab going was the lesser of two evils.
ECONOMIST: A Dutch sports-car firm aims to revive ailing Saab
It confirmed the sale of Volvo to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company Limited at the end of last year.
Rumours abound that Fisker could soon be sold, possibly to the Chinese carmaker Dongfeng Motor or to Zhejiang Geely, which owns Sweden's Volvo Cars.
The deal, which would give Geely access to advanced safety and environmental technology and a recognized global luxury brand, is expected to close in the third quarter, pending regulatory approvals.
To accommodate the employees of Alibaba, Netease and Geely, three leading Chinese companies that are already headquartered there, developers are racing to build high-end apartments and condominiums like the Hyatt luxury residences.
He also plans for half of Geely's sales to be exports from China.
Because Ford and Volvo are joined at the hip in engineering terms, Geely has been forced to go to considerable lengths to reassure Ford that it will not simply purloin the pair's advanced platforms and powertrains for its existing car business.
Manganese Bronze, which is based in Coventry, had been trying to secure a loan from Chinese shareholder Geely.
Volvo is expected to sign a technology-sharing pact with owner Geely that could determine how they will position their auto brands.
Geely said earlier this year it planned to enter the electric vehicle business with Kandi Technologies Group, a Chinese maker of small vehicles including go-karts.
FORBES: China's Geely Auto Shares Jump 5% After It Says Profit Climbed In '12 (Update)
No matter how much you may accomplish in the country, examples abound of companies like BYD and Geely that seemingly come out of nowhere to become very big, very fast, and which make any achievement pale by comparison.
And Li Shufu, chairman of Zhejiang Geely told reporters Wednesday at a legislative session that electric-car subsidies should be expanded to fuel-efficient cars, including hybrids.
FORBES: China's Auto Industry Eyes Subsidies For Electric, Hybrid Cars
The acquisition on March 28th of Volvo by Geely, a Chinese carmaker, is the latest example of low-cost Chinese producers' determination to build global brands.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group acquisition of Volvo is an early step in building the image of Chinese automobiles and marketing to foreign buyers.
应用推荐