Volvo: a fine anno si arriverà al Break Even Point

The Volvo brand was never quite the profit center Ford had hoped for when it purchased the Swedish marque in 1999, but Volvo’s new owner – China’s Geely – is optimistic the luxury brand will be able to at least break even by the end of the year.

Like its cross-country rival Saab, Volvo has struggled to generate profits over the last several years, prompting Ford to finally put the Swedish brand up for sale. However, despite its struggles, Geely believes it can right the ship by the fourth quarter of 2010.

“As far as I know, Volvo is in good operating condition and it’s possible it could break even in the fourth quarter of this year,” Geely Chief Executive Gui Shengyue said. Volvo recently launched a new version of its volume S60 model, which should help with Geely’s goal of breaking even by year’s end.

Geely signed a definitive purchase agreement with Ford late last month for the Volvo brand, and could take full ownership of Volvo within the next few weeks. Geely paid just $1.8 billion for the Volvo brand – far less than the $6.45 billion Ford paid for the brand in 1999.

Via Leftlanews.com