Ford may finally have a buyer for its Volvo brand after all, in the form of an old French suitor named Renault. Renault almost merged with Volvo in the early 1990s and they have even co-developed some engines together. Everything is still at the discussion stage though, which began sometime last year. Renault and Volvo is seen to be a good fit as Renault makes mostly compact cars except for the Laguna (which isn’t all that big in the first place) while Volvo makes larger cars, so vehicle platforms would be complementary to each other. I’m pretty sure much of the Western world would much rather a French company than a Chinese company like Changan or SAIC.
After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.
The big question is whether Renault has got the money to pour in..Hopefully they have
Hmm good i think, at least volvo is back owned by european.
Pls renault, volvo shud purely RWD…..the engine position etc, I also expect amt transmission shifted thru paddle….and the most important, all new design language. Perhaps they can hire Bangle to do the magic
Volvo has already got Steve Mattin as the Design Chief, whose has already done a great job with XC60 & the upcoming S60.
No way they will hire Bangle to ruin the newfound Volvo design language!
I agree if Volvo to start reconsidering RWD for their future cars. But since this manufacturer is driven by safety rather than driving precision (ala BMW), I doubt that could happen.
By the way FWD saloon cars can still be fun (e.g Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord, Peugeot 407)
If this happens, Volvo can use Nissan-Infiniti’s RWD platforms for its range. Or a Volvo GT-R hahahaha…
I miss my father’s 240 and I love the S90 – the last RWD Volvo.
Jaybond;
yes! dont forget saabs n civics haha!
How about proton go and buy volvo.. good larger car platform and extra safety which proton now dont have. Perhaps hiring Bangle wld be also a good idea to leapfrog protons design.. which is now boring.
Funds? no worries.. wait until this recession is at its worst.. then borrow money from the G to buy.. ford maybe force to sell for cheap.. 1 euro perhap?
Tolan, perhaps Proton could be the one who have the guts to hire Bangle. The rest of the world would not dare…hehe
wah, if go through. we get Nissan-Renault-Volvo together. alot of platforms and engineering tech.
3 in 1. Machiam Nescafe 3 in 1.
hidrogentank, agree!
Poor Volvo keep on searching for partner, like a chick on the street.
why renault and not peugeot eh? peugeot is making primarily hot hatches but the do have some MPV. anyway having volvo on board can definitely help to improve their SUV design (some which are shared with mitsubishi and definitely not that great) and big cars.
layman said,
February 4, 2009 @ 2:05 pm
Poor Volvo keep on searching for partner, like a chick on the street.
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volvo isnt looking for a partner. Ford owns volvo… and want to sell volvo off to get some extra money so that they can shore up their cash reserves. in case you didnt know, they recently sold jaguar to TATA.
najibest said,
February 4, 2009 @ 2:19 pm
why renault and not peugeot eh?
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ford cant force peugeot to buy volvo if they dont want/need it right?
but i dont think they need volvo anyways. they already own citroen and partner with people like toyota, bmw, ford and mitsubishi.. and have quite an amazing array of model lineups.
Whatever it is, I don’t think ford need Volvo which is why its on the chopping block.
Ford’s european devision has been coming out with a range of blockbuster hits so perhaps they think they can do without another brand to consolidate its operation.
As for Volvo going back to RWD, I don’t see it as a lightly route as much as I would like to see. The truth is, while RWD gives you better feel and driving control, it isn;t as efficient in terms of fuel efficiency and packaging. Perhaps driving enthusiates will care, but then again, driving enthusiates rarely buy Volvos anyway…save for some powerful Wagons. So Volvo is definately looking at the right demographics where it comes to drive wheels.
Volvo will probably continue to be FWD/AWD and leave the RWD game to the Germans.
volvo is not only about car lah.. poor you all.
core business and good volvo perspective is VOLVO TRUCKS.
currently the best one is Volvo F14 trucks.
It’s good with renault, renault’s had trucks too.. but it migh be redundant.
So sell them off, to the biggest bid one.. even china company.
who care!
bmwpower,
volvo trucks is no longer under the same roof with volvo cars. they were separated some times ago. if i’m not mistaken volvo trucks still have some investment from the sweedish government. and i think they recently bought nissan diesel…
could be a good move
najibest said,
February 4, 2009 @ 5:26 pm
bmwpower,
volvo trucks is no longer under the same roof with volvo cars. they were separated some times ago. if i’m not mistaken volvo trucks still have some investment from the sweedish government. and i think they recently bought nissan diesel…
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And Volvo Trucks owns Renault Trucks…haha
tiadaid said,
February 4, 2009 @ 8:53 pm
najibest said,
February 4, 2009 @ 5:26 pm
bmwpower,
volvo trucks is no longer under the same roof with volvo cars. they were separated some times ago. if i’m not mistaken volvo trucks still have some investment from the sweedish government. and i think they recently bought nissan diesel…
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And Volvo Trucks owns Renault Trucks…haha
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And to add on that, Renault SA is actually the biggest shareholder in Volvo Trucks.
A volvo 370z
That would be nice. Fast and safe.
hope it happens. would be fantastic. just think of what type of cars there will be.
luckily it’s going to stay european n not……..going to China! phew!
we could see renault F1 cars deploying airbags real soon :p
I’m so surprise that Ford still don’t need govt’s bailout.
cool Ford, you are just amazing.
aliBaPa said,
February 4, 2009 @ 11:46 pm
I’m so surprise that Ford still don’t need govt’s bailout.
cool Ford, you are just amazing.
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When you just sold almost all of your European car brands at premium prices, surely there’s money in the bank. Now they want to sell Volvo, meaning that Ford will now consist of it’s core brands – Ford, Lincoln & Mercury
I think… as stated … they were not selling ONLY volvo car.
they instead selling Volvo’s brand and that’s include ALL.
Khazanah beli volvo, bring all the technology here….
Jaybond said,
February 4, 2009 @ 1:09 pm
By the way FWD saloon cars can still be fun (e.g Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord, Peugeot 407)
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Agree…but if you think those are fun, I advise you to drive the new Audi A4. It’s too a FWD car and if you do get a chance driving it…take my advise…drive the car to 120/130 kph and then slam the brake REALLY hard (you really need to have the guts doing this!)…I assure you that the car still planted to the ground (no worry! it won’t flip), doesn’t run out of the course, stop the car in very short distance and best of all…you could doing this with both your hands at the back of your head (other point to lansi with some of your friends).
torque said,
February 9, 2009 @ 7:08 pm
Jaybond said,
February 4, 2009 @ 1:09 pm
By the way FWD saloon cars can still be fun (e.g Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord, Peugeot 407)
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Agree…but if you think those are fun, I advise you to drive the new Audi A4. It’s too a FWD car and if you do get a chance driving it…take my advise…drive the car to 120/130 kph and then slam the brake REALLY hard (you really need to have the guts doing this!)…I assure you that the car still planted to the ground (no worry! it won’t flip), doesn’t run out of the course, stop the car in very short distance and best of all…you could doing this with both your hands at the back of your head (other point to lansi with some of your friends).
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nice
If volvo is sold to renault,
Renault marketed by Tan Chong, Malaysia
if Tan Chong sell Renault cars, will Tan Chong sell Volvo Cars too?