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Volvo reveals V60 Cross Country ahead of LA

Volvo is bringing a model to the Los Angeles Auto Show that isn't afraid to get a little dirty. The Swedish automaker will finally unveil its V60 Cross Country crossover, and it has confirmed that the model will be available in North American markets shortly.
The Cross Country takes Volvo's standard V60 compact wagon and injects a little more off-road capability and visual flavor into the platform. US and Canadian models will arrive with Volvo's 250-horsepower, five-cylinder engine with a standard automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The company says the powertrain should get around 23 miles per gallon fuel economy on the combined cycle.
To be ready to go just a little bit off the beaten path, the suspension sits about 2.6-inches higher than the regular version. The body is also equipped with skid plates in the front and rear, side scuff plates, fender extensions and exhaust outlets integrated into the rear bumper. Hill Descent Control will also augment capability, as well.

Volvo Cars plans $20 billion stock IPO this month, sources say

STOCKHOLM — China's Geely Holding is in advanced discussions with banks to list its Volvo Cars unit in the coming weeks, three sources told Reuters, in what is expected to be one of Europe's biggest initial public offerings (IPOs) this year. Volvo Cars is aiming for a valuation of about $20 billion in the planned Stockholm listing, the sources said, with one saying the launch was penciled in for the end of September. Goldman Sachs and SEB are leading the transaction, while other banks including BNP Paribas, Carnegie and HSBC are also involved in the deal, the sources added. Volvo Cars declined to comment. Geely did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment outside normal business hours in China. SEB and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. The other banks were not immediately available. Geely, which bought Volvo from Ford more than a decade ago in the biggest acquisition by a Chinese firm of a foreign car maker, sought to float shares in the Swedish firm in 2018 but then pulled the deal citing trade tensions and a downturn in automotive stocks. Traditional carmakers have fallen out of favor in recent years, as Tesla has risen to be one of the world's most valuable companies, putting the focus on electric vehicles. Many European firms have pivoted toward the electric sector, including Volvo, which aims to only make fully electric cars by 2030 and owns a 49.5% stake in electric car maker Polestar. Valuation Gothenburg-based Volvo Cars aims to secure a valuation of roughly $20 billion, one of the sources said, while another mentioned a possible range of $20 billion to $30 billion. A third source suggested a $16 billion valuation was more realistic, citing the firm's revenue outlook. A $20 billion valuation for Volvo would be equivalent to six to seven times its earnings, a level some analysts say is high although it would put it in line with rivals Daimler and BMW. Tesla's valuation is more than 70 times that. NordLB's automotive analyst Frank Schwope estimated a valuation range of $10 billion to $15 billion. "The strong margins seen in the first half of 2021 are unlikely sustainable as the market benefited from a strong post-pandemic rebound that is unlikely to continue," Schwope said. For Geely's founder Li Shufu, who bought Volvo for $1.8 billion, the listing is a milestone on the road to transport of the future, where cars are part of an electrified network of mobility services generating data and business opportunities.

Geely targeting US market in 2016 with help from Volvo

Following reports that it'd team up with corporate sibling Volvo on a Chinese-market car comes a report from Bloomberg that Geely would reattempt its entry into the US market. The Chinese brand had a display at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, but has been absent from the US scene ever since.
The Geely branded cars will be jointly developed with Volvo, and bank on the Swedish manufacturers reputation for safety and reliability. Geely's CEO, Gui Shengyue, explained, "Our acquisition of Volvo enhanced our image and overseas consumers are seeing us as an international company." This represents a change in rhetoric for the brand, after Geely Chairman Li Shufu hamstrung the idea of a closer pairing, citing fears that an association would harm Volvo's reputation. The news of projects between Geely and Volvo first broke last week, although it's unclear if the cars that end up coming to the US will be the same as those being sold in China.
As we reported last week, Geely is already aiming to be the biggest brand in the Chinese domestic market. With this move to the US market, it's also attempting to overtake Chery as China's largest automotive exporter. According to the Bloomberg report, Geely has already moved 180,000 units overseas, which is extremely close to the 184,800 vehicles sold by Chery in 2012. By 2018, Geely anticipates that 60 percent of its sales will be occur outside of the PRC.