“We will not close any doors to anyone. There may well be interest in more cooperation with Saab, but we are not there yet,” Volvo Cars’ information director Olle Axelson told news agency TT.
“Saab is already currently buying services from us on a smaller scale because we have things that they do not.”
Other manufacturers may also be involved, he added. Axelson had told newspaper Dagens Industri that Volvo may launch Saab cooperation “in many areas.”
For example, he mentioned that Saab had rented Volvo’s test track in Hällered northwest of Borås for the launch of the new Saab 9-5. According to Axelson, executives at Volvo have not yet brought up the issue of closer cooperation with Saab.
New Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby is now undertaking swift corporate restructuring with meetings once a week. Jacoby, who has expressed dissatisfaction with both Volvo’s products and strategies, has begun a review on overhauling the company’s entire product line, including the C70.
The convertible is built in Uddevalla by a Volvo joint venture in which Volvo Cars owns 40 percent and Italy’s high-end car designer firm Pininfarina has a 60 percent stake. Demand for the convertible has fallen sharply to the point where the plant now will be shut down for about one month.
“The internal review of all models have nothing to do with Saab,” said Axelson.
Jacoby wants to simplify the production of more uniform solutions. One approach may be reducing the number of models, he said during the ongoing Paris Motor Show.
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