Volvo Cars president and CEO Håkan Samuelsson says that the Swedish automaker is “open to collaboration” with Mercedes-Benz … and indeed any other manufacturer.
Chinese businessman Li Shufu, who is also the chairperson at Geely, in February bought a 9,69% stake in Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler, making him the multinational firm’s biggest single shareholder. Geely, of course, owns Volvo Cars.
Asked by Automotive News Europe whether he sees the deal resulting in some sort of collaboration between Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, Samuelsson said any partnership would be considered.
“We are open for collaboration with everybody. If there is something we believe we can do together with another supplier or another automaker we will consider it. That has always been the case,” Samuelsson told the publication.
“If there is something we would like to do with another company, it has to make sense for us and for them,” he added.
An earlier report suggested that Daimler could buy a small stake in Volvo and end up supplying the Swedish automaker with engines from Mercedes-Benz.
Separately, Samuelsson said that he expected strong growth from Volvo in 2018.
“We have never had such a strong product line-up. Now it is time to perform and to grow. This year will be another year of strong growth and improved profit.”
