Ford officially confirms China's Geely as preferred bidder for Volvo
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/china/" rel="tag">China</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/" rel="tag">Ford</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/volvo/" rel="tag">Volvo</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/geely/" rel="tag">Geely</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/detroit-2009-volvo-s60-concept/#2"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/10/00volvos60conc_ab-630.jpg" /></a>
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><sma ll>Volvo S60 concept - click above for a high res image gallery</small></strong></em></div>
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It's been rumored for months Chinese automaker Geely had the best shot at picking up the Volvo brand from Ford, and today, Dearborn has finally confirmed it. Geely was named as the preferred bidder this morning and the Blue Oval is proceeding with negotiations. However, this is not going to be an easy deal to close. Ford doesn't want to keep any stake in the Swedish company, although it does hope to continue some product cooperation. <br />
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In spite of the lack of shareholding, Ford doesn't want Volvo to wither on the vine and wants whoever buys it to have the resources to make it a going concern - unlike what happened when BMW dumped Rover. Perhaps the toughest nut to crack will be intellectual property concerns. Any time a sale like this happens, the seller is be concerned about leaving too much information lying around, and that concern is understandably amplified when dealing with an up-and-coming Chinese company. There is no word on when a deal might be closed, so in the meantime, busy yourself with the official release after the jump.<br />
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<div class="postgallery"><p><s trong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2009-volvo-s60-concept/low/">Detroit 2009: Volvo S60 Concept</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2009-volvo-s60-concept/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/00volvos60conc_ab_thumbna il.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2009-volvo-s60-concept/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/01volvos60conc_ab_thumbna il.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2009-volvo-s60-concept/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/02volvos60conc_ab_thumbna il.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2009-volvo-s60-concept/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/03volvos60conc_ab_thumbna il.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2009-volvo-s60-concept/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/04volvos60conc_ab_thumbna il.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
[Source: Ford]<p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/28/ford-officially-confirms-chinas-geely-as-preferred-bidder-for-v/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Ford officially confirms China's Geely as preferred bidder for Volvo</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/28/ford-officially-confirms-chinas-geely-as-preferred-bidder-for-v/">Ford officially confirms China's Geely as preferred bidder for Volvo</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:58:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/28/ford-officially-confirms-chinas-geely-as-preferred-bidder-for-v/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19213171/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/28/ford-officially-confirms-chinas-geely-as-preferred-bidder-for-v/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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