AFTER 11 YEARS UNDER FORD OWNERSHIP, SWEDISH CAR MAKER VOLVO HAS been sold to the Chinese. Zheyiang Geely, a privately-owned Chinese company, signed the deal in Gothenburg on March 28. Chairman Li Shufu promised that Volvo would continue to have its own management and headquarters in and make cars in Europe. Geely plans to open two Volvo plants in , primarily to serve the domestic market and double Volvo’s current sales of 3,00,000 cars a year.

Volvo’s sale has been a long drawn-out affair as Ford was initially reluctant to transfer its current technology to a Chinese firm. Volvo’s S40, V50 and C30 models share architecture and component sets with the Ford Focus, while the V70, S80 and new S60 are similarly related to the Ford Mondeo.

The deal is worth $1.8 billion dollars and is the last step in Ford chief executive Alan Mulally’s ‘One Ford’ strategy which led to the sale of its premium brands, including Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover.