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北京一沃尔沃展厅内的沃尔沃S80L
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个月牵头收购福特汽车公司(Ford Motor Co.)旗下沃尔沃公司(Volvo)的中国浙江吉利控股集团(Zhejiang Geely Holding Group)为沃尔沃推出了一份复苏计划，以期让这家亏损中的瑞典公司每年实现近100万辆的销量。这份计划的核心在中国，但是也为欧洲和北美等沃尔沃传统市场推出了雄心勃勃的计划。不过，据吉利方面的知情人士透露，吉利高管认为在收购协议达成前势必有一段很长的路要走，因为知识产权问题加大了这桩交易的复杂程度。
这位知情者说，作为中国最大私人汽车企业之一的吉利将为交易筹集约20亿美元的资金，其中包括现金、银行贷款以及从投资者手中筹措小部分资金。他说这些投资者包括一家设在天津的政府基金以及一家相对更具知名度的外国投资者。这位知情人并未给出具体细节。
在针对沃尔沃的复苏计划中，为了促进销售、削减成本，吉利将开发中国的市场潜力，利用这里的廉价劳力，吉利将在中国建设一家年产能力30万辆轿车的新厂。不过，目前公司同意将把生产高端发动机的工作留在瑞典，以此缓和瑞典方面对工作流失的担忧。
吉利相信在中国市场有潜力每年销售20万辆沃尔沃轿车，去年的实际销量为1.26万辆。公司预计在未来四到五年时间全球销量将达到100万辆，而近年来沃尔沃汽车的全球年销量为40万辆左右。吉利希望全面利用沃尔沃在欧洲的产能，为欧洲及北美市场生产60万辆轿车。
上述知情者说，吉利还将在未来三到四年为沃尔沃系列增添两三个更大更豪华的车型，希望以此推动全球销量。吉利控股集团下属的吉利汽车控股有限公司(Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.)在香港上市。
独立汽车业分析师迈克尔•邓恩(Michael Dunne)说，吉利总能一次次地将不可能变成可能，但是想要将欧洲、北美的沃尔沃销量提高到60万辆，吉利必须要找到办法令这家在成熟市场中不断亏损且占有率缩水的汽车企业重振旗鼓，这可需要一些非凡创举了。
当然，首先，吉利需要达成这笔交易。
知情者说谈判还要再继续几个月。主要障碍之一是福特和吉利正在如何处理一些知识产权问题上较劲。福特在1999年斥资64亿美元收购了沃尔沃，并因这家公司亏损而于去年决定将其出售。
知情者说双方僵持不下的问题是福特同意将哪些技术转让给吉利、福特如何继续使用沃尔沃的技术、以及两家公司如何在未来应对可能出现的技术争端。他说双方同意用抓大放小的办法处理这些问题。
吉利是与一组投资者联手竞购的。不过那位熟悉吉利的人士说，吉利将获得沃尔沃相当大的一部分股权，这桩交易很可能是中国汽车生产商有史以来最雄心勃勃的海外扩张之举。
吉利在竞购沃尔沃上面临的一个可能障碍是，来自福特前董事丁曼(Michael Dingman)和福特及克莱斯勒(Chrysler Group LLC)前高管拉什文(Shamel Rushwin)牵头的Crown财团的继续竞争。据信这个财团仍在与福特进行谈判。
一位向Crown财团提供咨询的福特前高管拒绝透露，自吉利被选为优先竞购者以来，这家位于底特律的财团是否仍在与福特就竞购沃尔沃进行谈判。不过他说，该财团仍有兴趣。他说，是的，我们绝对仍有兴趣，我们也让他们知道了我们仍有兴趣。
福特说正在专注于与吉利的谈判，但拒绝透露谈判的细节。福特发言人说，我们的目标是与吉利达成一项协议。他拒绝就其他潜在竞购者发表置评。
那位熟悉吉利的人士说，与Crown财团相比，吉利的一个明显优势是在中国汽车市场上的经验。中国今年有望超过美国成为世界上最大的汽车市场，销量可能达到1,200万辆。他说，如果中国的潜力没有充分加以利用，对沃尔沃来说就没有未来，就无法成功。对沃尔沃来说，中国是棵摇钱树。
Crown财团的顾问说，该财团预计，其部分业务计划将是利用中国的优势实现增长。
那位熟悉吉利的人士说，吉利认为沃尔沃现有车型不够高级，难以吸引中国富有消费者，吉利希望在未来3至4年中增加两、三款“更大气”、“更豪华”的车型。
他说，吉利将争取保留沃尔沃的传统特征，但我们希望沃尔沃的汽车看起来豪华、给人留下深刻印象，能与大众奥迪A6轿车处于同一水准。奥迪A6在中国是成功的象征。奥迪将中国款A6加长，使其后座更宽敞、更舒适，因为中国大部分富有消费者都有自己的司机。
美国咨询公司CSM Worldwide驻上海的高级分析师张豫(Yale Zhang)说，随着现在的本田(Honda Motor Co.)雅阁和大众帕萨特车主未来4、5年会升级换代坐驾，中国准豪华车的需求将会开始增长。他说，通过扩大高档车的阵容，沃尔沃应该能借此东风。
吉利还希望在中国建立一个沃尔沃技术中心，以帮助沃尔沃加快产品开发的步伐、在基础的工程任务中使用低成本中国工程师以大幅降低研发成本。沃尔沃在瑞典经验更丰富的工程师将从事概念性较高的工作。
吉利认为，沃尔沃在华计划新建的工厂所生产的汽车有三分之二有望实现内销，剩下的三分之一有望销往其他亚太国家。
Norihiko Shirouzu
（更新完成）
China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., chosen last month as lead bidder for Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo unit, has developed a turnaround plan in which the money-losing Swedish auto maker would sell nearly one million vehicles a year. The plan centers on China but also sets ambitious goals for Volvo's traditional markets of Europe and North America.
Geely executives see a long slog to seal the deal, however, a process complicated by intellectual-property issues, according to a person close to Geely.
The person confirmed that Geely, one of China's biggest privately owned auto makers, is financing a roughly $2 billon bid for Volvo with a combination of cash, bank loans and funds from a small number of investors. He said those investors include a government-owned fund based in Tianjin, China, and a relatively well-known foreign investor. The person didn't give details.
Under its plans for Volvo, Geely would build a new Volvo plant in China capable of producing 300,000 vehicles a year as it looks to draw on China's market potential and inexpensive labor to raise sales and cut costs. But for now it is ceding more sophisticated engineering to Volvo's Swedish operations, an aspect of the plan that could help allay fears of lost jobs in Sweden.
Geely believes Volvo has the potential to sell 200,000 cars a year in China, up from 12,600 vehicles last year. It forecasts selling nearly one million cars a year globally in four to five years, compared with recent annual sales of around 400,000 vehicles. Geely wants to use Volvo's manufacturing capacity fully in Europe to sell 600,000 vehicles in Europe and North America.
Geely, whose Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. unit lists shares in Hong Kong, also would add two or three bigger, more luxurious cars to Volvo's lineup over the next three to four years, which it hopes would boost global sales, the person said.
'Time and again Geely has accomplished what others said was not possible,' said Michael Dunne, an independent auto analyst. 'But to boost sales in North America and Europe to 600,000, Geely is going to have to find a way to take a company that is losing money and market share in mature markets and turn it completely around. That would require a stroke of genius.'
First, of course, Geely has to seal the deal.
The talks could still drag on for a few more months, the person close to the auto maker said. Among the chief impediments is tension between Ford and Geely over how to handle certain intellectual-property rights. Ford acquired Volvo in 1999 for $6.4 billion and decided to sell last year as the Swedish unit posted losses.
At issue, the person said, are which technology Ford would transfer to Geely, how Ford would continue to use Volvo technology and how the two companies would handle any possible disputes over technology down the road. He said the two sides have agreed on 'rough mechanisms' to resolve such problems.
Geely is bidding with a group of investors. But the person close to the company said Geely would take a sizable stake in Volvo in a deal that is likely to be the most ambitious international expansion so far by a Chinese car maker.
One obstacle could be continued competition in the bidding for Volvo from the Crown consortium led by former Ford director Michael Dingman and former Ford and Chrysler Group LLC executive Shamel Rushwin, which is believed to still be holding talks with Ford.
A former Ford executive who has been advising the Crown group declined to say whether the Detroit-based consortium is still talking to Ford about Volvo since Geely was tapped as the preferred bidder. But he said the Crown group remains interested. 'Yes, we're still interested absolutely, and we've let them know we are still interested.'
Ford said the company is focusing on talks with Geely and has declined to discuss details of those discussions. 'Our goal is to reach an agreement with Geely,' a Ford spokesman said. He declined to comment on other potential bidders.
The person close to Geely said a clear advantage that the company has over the Crown group is Geely's experience in China's auto market, which is poised to surpass the U.S. as the world's biggest auto market this year with sales possibly reaching 12 million vehicles. 'Without China's potential fully tapped, there is no future for Volvo and you can't succeed. China is the golden egg for Volvo,' he said.
The Crown group adviser said the consortium expects part of its business plan would be 'to really leverage growth in China.'
The person close to Geely said the company believes Volvo's current cars aren't sufficiently upscale to impress rich Chinese consumers and wants to add two or three 'grander' and 'more spectacular' models over the next three to four years.
He said Geely will seek to retain Volvo's traditional character, 'but we want Volvo cars to look spectacular and impressive,' to put them in the same league as Volkswagen AG's Audi A6 sedan, a symbol of success in China. Audi stretched the model for China to make the car's back seat bigger and more comfortable since most well-to-do customers in the nation have chauffeurs.
Yale Zhang, a Shanghai-based senior analyst with U.S. consulting firm CSM Worldwide, said demand for near-luxury cars is poised to take off in China over the next four to five years as current owners of Honda Motor Co.'s Accord and Volkswagen's Passat trade up. By adding to its lineup of upscale cars, Volvo should be able to ride that wave, Mr. Zhang said.
Geely also wants to set up a Volvo tech center in China to help Volvo speed product development and cut research-and-development costs significantly by tapping low-cost Chinese engineers for basic engineering tasks. More-seasoned Volvo engineers in Sweden would do high-concept work.
Geely believes Volvo could sell two-thirds of the cars from its planned new China plant domestically and would seek to export the rest to other Asia-Pacific countries.
Norihiko Shirouzu
Geely executives see a long slog to seal the deal, however, a process complicated by intellectual-property issues, according to a person close to Geely.
The person confirmed that Geely, one of China's biggest privately owned auto makers, is financing a roughly $2 billon bid for Volvo with a combination of cash, bank loans and funds from a small number of investors. He said those investors include a government-owned fund based in Tianjin, China, and a relatively well-known foreign investor. The person didn't give details.
Under its plans for Volvo, Geely would build a new Volvo plant in China capable of producing 300,000 vehicles a year as it looks to draw on China's market potential and inexpensive labor to raise sales and cut costs. But for now it is ceding more sophisticated engineering to Volvo's Swedish operations, an aspect of the plan that could help allay fears of lost jobs in Sweden.
Geely believes Volvo has the potential to sell 200,000 cars a year in China, up from 12,600 vehicles last year. It forecasts selling nearly one million cars a year globally in four to five years, compared with recent annual sales of around 400,000 vehicles. Geely wants to use Volvo's manufacturing capacity fully in Europe to sell 600,000 vehicles in Europe and North America.
Geely, whose Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. unit lists shares in Hong Kong, also would add two or three bigger, more luxurious cars to Volvo's lineup over the next three to four years, which it hopes would boost global sales, the person said.
'Time and again Geely has accomplished what others said was not possible,' said Michael Dunne, an independent auto analyst. 'But to boost sales in North America and Europe to 600,000, Geely is going to have to find a way to take a company that is losing money and market share in mature markets and turn it completely around. That would require a stroke of genius.'
First, of course, Geely has to seal the deal.
The talks could still drag on for a few more months, the person close to the auto maker said. Among the chief impediments is tension between Ford and Geely over how to handle certain intellectual-property rights. Ford acquired Volvo in 1999 for $6.4 billion and decided to sell last year as the Swedish unit posted losses.
At issue, the person said, are which technology Ford would transfer to Geely, how Ford would continue to use Volvo technology and how the two companies would handle any possible disputes over technology down the road. He said the two sides have agreed on 'rough mechanisms' to resolve such problems.
Geely is bidding with a group of investors. But the person close to the company said Geely would take a sizable stake in Volvo in a deal that is likely to be the most ambitious international expansion so far by a Chinese car maker.
One obstacle could be continued competition in the bidding for Volvo from the Crown consortium led by former Ford director Michael Dingman and former Ford and Chrysler Group LLC executive Shamel Rushwin, which is believed to still be holding talks with Ford.
A former Ford executive who has been advising the Crown group declined to say whether the Detroit-based consortium is still talking to Ford about Volvo since Geely was tapped as the preferred bidder. But he said the Crown group remains interested. 'Yes, we're still interested absolutely, and we've let them know we are still interested.'
Ford said the company is focusing on talks with Geely and has declined to discuss details of those discussions. 'Our goal is to reach an agreement with Geely,' a Ford spokesman said. He declined to comment on other potential bidders.
The person close to Geely said a clear advantage that the company has over the Crown group is Geely's experience in China's auto market, which is poised to surpass the U.S. as the world's biggest auto market this year with sales possibly reaching 12 million vehicles. 'Without China's potential fully tapped, there is no future for Volvo and you can't succeed. China is the golden egg for Volvo,' he said.
The Crown group adviser said the consortium expects part of its business plan would be 'to really leverage growth in China.'
The person close to Geely said the company believes Volvo's current cars aren't sufficiently upscale to impress rich Chinese consumers and wants to add two or three 'grander' and 'more spectacular' models over the next three to four years.
He said Geely will seek to retain Volvo's traditional character, 'but we want Volvo cars to look spectacular and impressive,' to put them in the same league as Volkswagen AG's Audi A6 sedan, a symbol of success in China. Audi stretched the model for China to make the car's back seat bigger and more comfortable since most well-to-do customers in the nation have chauffeurs.
Yale Zhang, a Shanghai-based senior analyst with U.S. consulting firm CSM Worldwide, said demand for near-luxury cars is poised to take off in China over the next four to five years as current owners of Honda Motor Co.'s Accord and Volkswagen's Passat trade up. By adding to its lineup of upscale cars, Volvo should be able to ride that wave, Mr. Zhang said.
Geely also wants to set up a Volvo tech center in China to help Volvo speed product development and cut research-and-development costs significantly by tapping low-cost Chinese engineers for basic engineering tasks. More-seasoned Volvo engineers in Sweden would do high-concept work.
Geely believes Volvo could sell two-thirds of the cars from its planned new China plant domestically and would seek to export the rest to other Asia-Pacific countries.
Norihiko Shirouzu
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