Interesting remarks. Wonder how long will it take to position Volvo as a luxury brand against BMW and Mercs (should also put Lexus in this market segment).
But, let's not discard such visions. Will be watching it.
First thing to observe is the S60 launch (when will it be available and the sales associated since this will be the 'first car' to be launch under Geely management even though it has been in the works for a number of years).
http://english.caijing.com.cn/2010-08-09/110494394.html
As the new owner of Volvo, Geely said it would move Volve upmarket and offer a competitor to the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Volve, the Swedish auto maker that completed the $1.3 billion purchasing deal last Monday with Geely, is ready to compete with luxury car brands such as Mercede-Benze and BMW in auto car market by creating a new luxury car, Li Shufu, the new chief of Volve said during an interview with Caijing Magazine.
“Volve will edge in luxury auto market with new products,†Li said. In a decade when owned by Fort, Volve has stayed away from this market to competition with some luxury brands including Land Rover and Jaguar.
“Currently, Volvo is in direct competition with Mercede-Benz and BMW, but only with BMW 3 Series, 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class,†said Li, “Volvo aims to compete with BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class.†Li did not disclose concrete strategic measures.
It is the intellectual property right which acquired during the M&A, not the M&A itself that matters in the takeover of technologies, according to Li.
He told Caijing reporters Geely has purchased the exclusive intellectual property right owned by Volve while the intellectual property rights shared with Ford need to be authorized bilaterally when used by Geely.
“As a mass-market brand, Geely has different clients with Volve. We tend to adopt some technologies suitable for Geely and less costly,†Li said.