Geely buy Volvo

Now there’s a statement that should gladden the hearts of Ford Execs.

Although not official, the Chinese Media are citing Government sources for the information, so although it could be yet another rumour, this time it seems to have legs.

What makes it more interesting for an old cynic like me is the statement that Volvo has issued in response to the rumours of the sale that are starting to hit the Interwb.

In a statement that would make Sir Humphrey Appleby proud, Volvo said:

An announcement related to the sale of Volvo Car Corp. would only come from Ford Motor Company.

As of today, neither Ford Motor Company nor Volvo Car Corporation in Sweden has made any announcement regarding the sale of Volvo. Reports of such a sale by any media outlet are speculative and, therefore, are not accurate.

Which is double-speak for ‘We know what’s going on, but you can’t possible believe we’d tell the likes of you at the moment’.

Ford has been trying as hard as it can to off-load Volvo in the midst of its own problems. It has been reported that both BMW and Mercedes turned down Volvo, and back in February we reported that talks between Ford and  Geely over Volvo had broken down. But it is starting to look like they’ve kissed and made up.

Of course, Geely is probably best know in the West for its ‘Homage’ to Western car makers, most notable of which is probably Geely’s ‘Throne-in-the-Back’ Rolls Royce Phantom Clone. Which could make for some interesting looking Volvos. Perhaps Volvo’s homage to the Veyron? Or what about a Volvo Cayenne?!

If only Christian von Koenigsegg had jumped in at Volvo as well as Saab (although we would admit it is a bigger deal altogether) we could instead have been looking forward to a mainstream version of the Volvo Vox P1800.

But plagiarists or not by nature, Geely probably has the financial muscle to pull this off and, if the reports are to be believed, they are prepared to invest £7 billion in re-building the Volvo brand.

More news on this as we get it.