Former executives of Volvo don't want to sell it to Geely

The sale of Volvo continues to generate expectation. After Geely’s bid was confirmed, the company that began manufacturing automobiles in 1998 and builds London’s black cabs, joined the race to acquire the Swedish brand, the Crown consortium, with an offer close to 2.5 billion dollars.

The Swedish newspaper The Local reports that eight former directors of Volvo Cars and Volvo Group have written a letter sent to Bill Ford Jr. asking the blue oval to reconsider its intention to sell Volvo to Geely. The document places emphasis on the technological aspect, reminding the chairman of Ford of the possibility of leaks. Furthermore, the former executives express their distrust in Geely’s technological capability and its prospects for keeping alive a company as advanced as Volvo.

The company’s response has been emphatic: the content of the letter has been described as almost xenophobic , and it has been clarified that the search for a buyer for the firm does not exclude any company, but is being conducted without restrictions and on a global scale. Even the political sphere has reacted: the Swedish Christian Democratic party has described the sale of Volvo to a Chinese company as handing it over to communism.

Forecasts suggested it would have an owner before the end of this year, but it seems the matter will take a while.

Source | Autoblog