Volvo safe: Mulally

THE Ford Motor Company does not intend to sell its struggling Swedish brand Volvo, according to chief executive Alan Mulally.

When asked at the Paris motor show last week to confirm that Ford has no plans to sell Volvo, Mr Mulally said: “Right.” Automotive News reported that Mr Mulally said Ford’s plan was to “focus on improving the business performance of Volvo”.

“If we wanted to do something different we would be doing it,” he said.

“The most important thing at Volvo is to keep improving the brand and move it up in the premium category so it is competitive as a premium product.”

Left: Volvo CEO Stephen Odell.

Meanwhile, incoming Volvo CEO Stephen Odell told AN at the Paris show that his goal was to return the Swedish car-maker to sustainable profit, even if it means sacrificing volume.

“We have to operate on a cost base that makes sense,” he said, adding that Volvo had a production capacity of 500,000 after the announcement earlier in the week that 1000 job cuts and a shift shutdown would take place at Volvo’s plant in Torslanda, Sweden. “That (500,000) is not the magic number. Selling lots more unprofitable vehicles is not a good answer.”

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