HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - "Do you know how big Volvo is?" asked Don Leclair, finance chief at Ford Motor Co..
It was 2008, and Leclair was responding to an offer from a little-known Chinese businessman to purchase the Swedish carmaker, which Ford owned.
The businessman, Li Shufu, had a company with less than half Volvo's sales and a flagship model, King Kong, almost unknown outside China. He was politely shown the door of the "Glass House," Ford's iconic headquarters near Detroit, according to two people who were at the meeting. Ford's Leclair did not respond to requests for comment about the episode.
Fast-forward to 2021 and Li Shufu's company, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is one of the biggest-selling automakers in the world's biggest auto market. It controls not only Volvo Cars but also a clutch of global auto brands, and a significant stake in German giant Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes-Benz. These names are now part of its plans for a revolution in autos.
Geely is preparing Volvo for a listing on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange as a route towards the future of transportation: One where cars are part of an electrified network of mobility services, driving themselves, connecting to each other and - like cell phones - generating an array of data and new business opportunities.
It's a vision more Silicon Valley than Detroit, where traditional automakers globally are chasing another giant - Tesla Inc.
Li Shufu and his advisers eventually convinced Ford to part with...
Read Full Story: https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2021-09-02/special-report-how-the-chinese-tycoon-driving-volvo-plans-to-tackle-tesla
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