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As Jack Trout and Al Reis famously pointed out – when you think of Volvo you think safety. When you think of Chinese goods you are somewhat concerned about safety . The Geely acquisition of Volvo from Ford is just brilliant from the Chinese viewpoint and a good move by Ford as they divest lines that distract management attention.
With all these mergers and de-mergers the world auto industry seems to be getting more focused around a smaller number of brands. A significant change is the global presence of China’s Geely and India’s Tata who acquired Jaguar and Land Rover earlier from Ford. Fortunately, the auto industry does not rapidly merge distribution channels or supply chains. Imagine, how much more difficult it would be for Geely to decouple every Volvo dealer if they had got merged. Similarly, the fairly distinct supply chain,R&D and production should make for a smooth transition.