STOCKHOLM (AFP) — Swedish industrial group Volvo is ready to help its former car unit Volvo Cars if current owner Ford goes bankrupt but is not interested in buying it back, Volvo's chairman told a newspaper Thursday.
"We would gladly finance joint projects, such as sponsor projects or research projects, and could consider being part of various consortiums without becoming the main owner," Volvo chairman of the board Finn Johnsson told Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri.
"We absolutely do not want to buy Volvo Cars," he stressed.
The Volvo group, which includes heavy truckmaker Volvo Trucks, sold Volvo Cars to Ford in 1999. The US automaker is now in severe financial difficulty in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Johnsson said he was opposed to calls for the Swedish state to acquire Volvo Cars.
"The state knows nothing about the car industry and Volvo needs an owner that can increase sales and cooperate with suppliers on components and development," he said, suggesting French carmaker Renault as a good owner for the Swedish company.
Ford launched a major restructuring plan in 2006 to boost productivity and gradually transform its product portfolio to increase the share of compact and energy-efficient models.
Ford, which lost 129 million dollars in the third quarter of this year, has along with General Motors and Chrysler pleaded with US lawmakers for a multi-billion dollar rescue for their crippled industry.
The Democrats have put off a vote until at least December and told them to come up with a new restructuring plan.
Volvo Cars has been hit by Ford's weakness and the slowing market.
The Swedish automaker, which employed 24,400 people at the end of 2007, has announced a total of 6,000 job cuts worldwide since June, including 3,900 in Sweden.
Volvo Cars manufactured about 467,300 cars in 2007, including about 213,000 in Sweden, according to Swedish agency TT.
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