Though last November Ford said that its Swedish brand, Volvo, is not for sale anymore, there have been a lot of rumors about Ford willing to sell its Swedish brand Volvo, but no official response was issued. However, now, after Ford appointed veteran executive Stephen Odell as head of Volvo Cars, industry analysts say that’s a sign that Ford plans on keeping the Swedish company and do all its efforts to make it profitable.
Odell, 53 year old, born in the UK, is the first non-Swede to run Volvo and before that he was chief operating officer of Ford of Europe and had served as its vice president of marketing and sales. He also held senior level positions at Mazda Motor Corp.
“This is a statement from Ford that they want to shift into a higher gear,” Matts Carlsson, automotive analyst at Goteborg Management Institute, said. “They want to increase the pace of Volvo’s integration into Ford and the new profile that Volvo is seeking. It’s been discussed that they should no longer view BMW and Mercedes as their competitors, but work downward toward the profile as a people’s car that Volvo once had,” he added.
Source: Detroit News
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