Volvo/Geely Deal To Be Inked This Week

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Chinese Gasgoo is quoting Sweden’s Dagens Industri (DI) as saying that Geely will sign a contract later this week for the intellectual property rights of Ford’s Volvo Cars. Let’s hope everybody has their translations right.



Reportedly, the deal will stay as reported: Volvo Cars will keep the key technologies and IP rights that it has developed. The new owner Geely “will have access to them.” Volvo will be able to use “some of Ford’s IP” to continue its business.

The New York Times is still fantasizing about a “Swedish solution” but thinks that in the end, the deal will go to Geely. Geely is bringing one thing to the table the other bidders don’t have in abundance: “Money is not a problem for Geely,” said a Geely insider to Gasgoo.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • B10er B10er on Dec 10, 2009

    Wow... The automotive industry is going to be brutal over the next decade... 1. a handful of generic silver and gray Hyundais and cars that Hyundai copies for the masses 2. hybrid trendoid enviro-cars 3. and...blinged out 2Fast2Furious garbage for the teenage fan boys and gangsta wannabes and the fat older tasteless men who want to be like them with their 20" chrome wheeled Chrysler 300s ... If any cool cars do poke through, they will be so few and far between, that any auto enthusiasts with taste will see themselves coming and going on a daily basis, and where is the fun in that.

  • Fincar1 Fincar1 on Dec 10, 2009

    Kind of odd in a way that the number of model lines proliferates while at the same time the manufacturers get bigger, yet cars for the most part seem more blah. Maybe it's a good time to look for a resurgence of interest in older cars.

  • Psmisc Psmisc on Dec 10, 2009

    Let's at least hope Geely starts to make safer cars, since Volvo has the world's most advanced crash test facility.

  • Accs Accs on Dec 20, 2009

    This sounds like a nice set of parents.. losing a adopted set of kids to the abusive original parents... and being lied to.. that it should all be fine and dandy. Heven help them. Imagine VOLVO... with this kind of company.. eeegads

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