A Reuters report on Monday that Ford Motor Co.
has had talks with Renault SA about the possible sale of its Volvo unit is also a reminder of the huge changes in the world economy -- and in the auto business -- since 1993.
That was the year that a plan for Renault to acquire Volvo created
an uproar in Sweden, ultimately resulting in a boardroom coup and costing Volvo chairman Pehr Gyllenhammar his job.
Back then, Renault was state owned -- and the French were proposing to pay in stock for one of the icons of Swedish industry. Not a popular idea.
In 1996, Renault was privatized. Volvo restructured and
sold to Ford in 1999. That was also the year Renault took a big stake in Nissan and, confounding the skeptics (including yours truly), turned it around under the leadership of Carlos Ghosn. -
Kenneth Klee
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