Geely 'to protect Volvo'

Chinese car maker Geely will run Volvo as a separate entity to protect its luxury image, according to a report in the Financial Times.

Geely is set to conclude its $2 billion (£1.25bn) deal to buy Volvo before China's lunar new year holiday begins on February 14.

"We want to be careful not to damage the Volvo brand," said Freeman Shen, Geely's vice president for international operations. "We don't want the image of a luxury car made in a third world country. We want the image of a European luxury car, albeit owned by a Chinese owner."

Responding to suggestions that Geely would struggle to turn around Volvo's fortunes, Shen responded: "Geely is not fettered by 100 years of automotive history and our chief is more flexible, willing to try new ideas and learn from other countries and companies, and will provide better motivation to Volvo's management."

He added that getting Volvo production up and running in China will be key to turning around the company's fortunes. At least 10 provincial and municipal Chinese governments are wooing Geely with incentives to build a plant in their area.

However, Shen ruled out moving Volvo's main production base or research and development operations to China.

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