Geely proposes competitive bid for Volvo

• Source: Global Times
• [16:02 November 12 2009]
• Comments

In its bid to buy Ford Motor’s Volvo unit, Geely Holding Group plans to double Volvo’s sales to nearly 1 million vehicles a year. The Chinese automaker hopes this turnaround plan will be a more competitive bid compared with other suitors.

In its plan, Geely wants to build a new Volvo plant in China with an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles a year. It believes Volvo could sell 200,000 units a year in China. Within four or five years, Geely hopes 1 million vehicles could be sold globally, compared with recent annual sales of about 400,000 units.

The Chinese automaker also plans to cede more sophisticated engineering to Volvo's Swedish operations to help allay fears of lost jobs in Sweden.

Ford officially named Geely Holding Group as preferred bidder for Volvo in October.

Agencies and Shi Jierui contributed to this story