BMW reportedly interested in buying Volvo?
Autocar says BMW seriously considered taking Volvo off of Ford's hands earlier this year, going so far as to request financial data about the company, which is surprising on several levels.
First, does this mean Volvo is for sale? Bill Ford has said nothing in Ford's Premium Auto Group is sacred, but Volvo seems to be one of the company's shiniest jewels.
Perhaps the greatest surprise would be BMW's Quandt family overcoming its aversion to buying another carmaker after the much maligned purchase of Rover. Despite ending up with the popular MINI brand, it's well known that the Quandts were not happy with the whole mess.
Speaking of the MINI brand, Autocar theorizes that had BMW written a check for Volvo, future small cars from the Swedish automaker might have been based on a platform shared with an expanded MINI lineup. Autocar daydreams that by sharing with Volvo, MINI might have expanded its lineup with a sedan and that rumored SUV variant, the Colorado. On the other hand, larger, more upscale Volvos could have been BMW-based.
Which leads us to another quandary in this rumored buyout deal. How would BMW have positioned Volvo's quite similar lineup against its own? Both have a full selection of premium coupes, sedans, wagons and SUVs targeted at upper income buyers. Granted, Volvo touts safety while BMW espouses to be the "Ultimate Driving Machine," but wouldn't sales of the V50 have competed with the 3-Series wagon? The V70 with the 5-Series?
Upside? Well, Ford would have gotten another short-term financial boost and BMW would have had the potential to save money with platform sharing.
What does the Autoblog community think? Opportunity missed or disaster averted?
Thanks for the tip, Brent!
[Source: Autocar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Yaroukh 2:48PM (5/09/2007)
I don't see this happening, Volvo is Bill's most favourite brand.
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Dave 2:44PM (5/09/2007)
It would be a shame to see BMW lose its focus.
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Joce03 8:21PM (7/07/2008)
Not to be negative, but I feel like they already have. The X6 and the possibility of a Mini SUV make me say that.
JB 2:55PM (5/09/2007)
I think Volvo could slot in below BMW generally. There are BMWs at over 100K, no Volvo is near that.
Volvo is not Rover. It was a disaster of epic proportions, the last little bit of British car industry, which should have been tied to tree and hit over the head with a shovel.
Volvo could give more volume to BMW, while people could move up to BMW if they want, or stay within the Volvo line. Mini would be a good entry point, with a variety of smaller, more affordable vehicles.
I think BMW appreciates Volvo's reputation and the fact that it was resisted assimilation into Ford as much as possible. Volvos still use Volvo engines, except for the Yamaha V8, for example. There are no duratechs in Volvos, unlike Mazda.
Ford will resist selling Volvo, since its platform is under the 500/Taurus/Freestyle, and the Euro Focus also supports the C30. But in a generation, that could change. Ford doesn't really compete with BMW directly, not even with Jaguar.
Ford has done better by Volvo than GM with Saab, but BMW could be even better for Volvo.
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Drewboy 2:57PM (5/09/2007)
Ford needs Volvo, IMO. It would be a mistake to let go of the company.
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Pedro 2:58PM (5/09/2007)
While intriguing, it would surprise me that BMW would want to purchase a full line automaker. Unless they were interested in taking volvo in a new direction with fewer models, or integrating it with Mini, it seems that BMW would be better off expanding its portfolios with automakers that could fill niches that BMW currently does not, although these days those are a dwindling few. Jaguar might be an interesting match, as it would complete BMW's British lineup.
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DJ 3:09PM (5/09/2007)
Volvo is way too deeply integrated into Ford Europe's core development programs to be spun off. The EUCD platform and derivatives underpin the new Mondeo, the S80, the upcoming XC60, the new LR2 and the Volvo designed and built 3.2L I6 is found in all of those and more in the future. When BMW bought LR and Mini, they were pretty much standalone companies. Now the possibility of Ford & BMW creating a "relationship" a la Renualt and Nissan could have merit.
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Hamud 3:17PM (5/09/2007)
Volvo is what it is now because of Ford and Ford would never be the same without Volvo. They need each other. So I don't see this purchase happening.
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bmw122487 3:19PM (5/09/2007)
BMW, you are perfect now and don't ever change, volvo's look nice but are boring and would only be an economic burden from my perspective.
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Daniel Cowan 3:20PM (5/09/2007)
To keep in tradition with the mini brand, the mini should not have four doors. But that doesn't mean that BMW could not have used Volvo's safety features. BMw may not have needed them so much, but any car company could use improvements, even if they do not come from Volvo.
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Rolf B 3:23PM (5/09/2007)
I think Ford should quit selling the brands that make money (eg. Aston Martin) and start fixing the brands that don't. Money gained that isn't spent well, becomes an asset lost. Again it's an example of short sightedness and not looking around to see what people really want and drive.
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PeakVT 3:25PM (5/09/2007)
Except for strictly cash purposes, selling Volvo would make no sense for Ford. Volvo is well integrated into Ford's global operations and AFAIK is making money. Ditching Jaguar would make more sense given its free-fall in sales and its more freestanding operations. Though at this point I can't imagine any major player wanting Jag. Only Peugeot/Citroen and Hyundai/Kia lack a luxury brand, and I doubt the Frenchies want a dying British marque, and the Koreans have one under development already. Perhaps Modern Gentleman would be interested? BMW - never.
Besides, didn't Ford put up most of Volvo as collateral for their mega loan a year or so ago?
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AR 3:28PM (5/09/2007)
Please G_d, no Bangle's invasion into the sharpest most-modern looking (and engineered as well) Swedish car company. Volvo is perhaps the last Euro premium brand completely free of muscular, retro, and other cr@p aimed at nostalgic baby-boomers and other lovers of the 70s auto technology.
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John P. 3:42PM (5/09/2007)
very poor fit, too much overlap. both would be weakened.
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Talis 3:56PM (5/09/2007)
wow, for once Autoblog has an intelligent discussion...
I cannot see Ford selling off Volvo, the company is just too important to Ford production worldwide and the brand seems to be doing well enough not to be a burden.
I would not think BMW would want to keep the Volvo line up the way it is. As it is already, Volvo offers a damn fine car for a price that none other can rival.
I test drove an s40 not too long ago and was very impressed. If I wanted to buy a premium vehicle but did not want to pay a premium price I would give Volvo a serious look.
Some of you made good points on BMW's need to have a volume brand and I do agree that Volvo would suit that need very well. There is a problem that I see and that is, how many vehicles does Volvo sell under Ford? I am not sure, so please help me with this, if Volvo is a volume leader as it stands now.
DeeZee... I understand your frustration. If you follow the history of Ford, you will note that during the days of the Model-T, Ford was in dire straights because the company did not offer enough models, or any advanced models. Edsel Ford saved his father's company by buying Lincoln and designing the Model-A and later the Zephyr and then the Continental.
The problem is much the same today; none of the brands, besides the premiere group, offer anything note worthy in the American market. Even the Mustang and the F-150 have gaps that Toyota and Honda would never have--not that I am Ford bashing, the point is valid.
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The FedEx Man 4:01PM (5/09/2007)
they may overlap in models but buyers are very different. In my opinion someone the core buyers of Volvos would never think of buying and vise versa. Having said that I don't reckon buying Volvo would be beneficial to BMW
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Talis 4:03PM (5/09/2007)
And don't forget that not too long ago there was zero aerodynamic considerations in truck design. The trucking industry, helped by Volvo, and the DCX enterprise, and the many others, has improved by leaps and bounds.
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Talis 4:04PM (5/09/2007)
oops... wrong thread.
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mr.ed 4:46PM (5/09/2007)
Nothing's sacred at Ford anymore. They just announced they're getting out of the foundry business, one of Henry's favorites. Peddling Volvo should take them about an hour to complete.
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pd 4:59PM (5/09/2007)
Wow, didn't see this one coming but, it really does make a lot of sense. Ford is losing money hand over fist and is in need of a cash infusion. BMW can do some platform sharing with Volvo, to help with costs. But keep the cars different identities to avoid cross shopping. Thought Jaguar would have been on the block first since it is a anchor pulling them into the abyss.
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