chinese volvo

It's going to Geely:

www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/163454/ford-agrees-volvo-sale-to-china-geely-report

Somehow methinks it's a bad day for Volvo fans:

The Geely ADO:



The Geely GE:



And a crash-tested Geely:



I look at that picture and think: is she texting her boss with 'erm ... that didn't go too well. Is there any way of us getting a car maker that builds them strong?'.

To be honest I reckon that's exactly why they have bought Volvo. I think the Chinese know the shortcomings of their own products and the problems of introducing their brand into European markets.

I'm surprises a Chinese buyer hasn't stepped up to buy Saab, unless they're waiting for the dismantling to begin and will pick out the juicy bits for a lower price, like they did with MG Rover.

Yes, the photo's from a Russian automotive magazine who used the EuroNCAP speed to test it rather than Russia's own, which is lower.

There was quite a big thread about this on the VOC forums. General consensus was that it didn't make much difference to enthusiasts because we all tend to buy the old bricks.. There was talk of residual values and stuff being effected, but all I can see is a Chinese company injecting some money into a European brand. Can't be that much of a bad thing, can it?

doesn't make a difference who owns Volvo. So its Chinese owned, what they are going to make the seats out of noodles now? Volvo has been American owned for years, they have't fitted big block V8s and confederate flags to them have they?

Chinese build some of the best quality industrial products in the world. And some of the worst. And all the ones in between too. They have a huge internal market and a huge amount of cash to invest. Expect the Chinese to own more and more of the world as the next few years roll by.

The smart move is to buy up existing manufacturers as the lack the knowledge/heritage/infrastructure to design and develop thier own models effectively.

I expect nothing at all will Change for Volvo, I expect a few vaguely racist jokes at the lower end of the media and pub conversations will result but other than that? Nah. Some guys from Sweden will see more of Shenzhen or wherever than they expected to a few months ago but thats about it.

I heard one of the Chinese companis has bought the Saab tooling. Not sure if thats true.

Wonder how long it will be before all the German car factories start closing down? Another 10 years? Maybe more or less?

no, but it sounds like something one of us RRers would do

I wish the press would stop knocking the Chinese makes so much. We only ever seem to get the negative side of the story - rotten crash tests, cheesy ripoffs, blatant copies, etc.

Good example would be when Brilliance sent their BS6 saloon down for an NCAP-esque crash test and it did terribly and got 1/5 stars and would be lethal to the occupants, that bit was of the story was widely reported in the usual "tee hee what a death trap" style. What news wasn't as forthcoming was that they took the information on board and sent a redesigned version down, which got a respectable 3/5 stars.

Anyway, this Geely business (if it happens) should be a nice exchange for both parties I reckon. Volvo get some investment, Geely get access to Volvo technology and can start knocking out better cars. If it means we get some Chinese makes over here sooner, I'm looking forward to it.

Ah well it doesn't reaaaally matter... Volvo haven't produced good cars for a long while.. say 10yrs? I can't imagine anything they've built in the last 10 years to last anywhere near as long as the 200/700/800/900 series cars!