Volvo V40 review (12/12/2012)

I HAVE to say that when the Zehjiang Geely Holding Group forked out some $1.8 billion for Volvo in 2010, taking the Swedish manufacturer off Ford’s books, there was widespread and understandable concern within the motor industry that it was not a positive move for the Gothenburg outfit.

There was considerable unease that the Chinese would somehow dilute Volvo’s hard-earned reputation for building resilient, sturdy, safe and — occasionally — very appealing cars. This was perhaps more because of a fear of the unknown than anything else and was possibly based on the feeling that the new owner would be more interested in building cheap cars for its home market.

Of course there was a corollary sense of relief that the Swedish concern had not gone down the tubes. However, the overriding feeling was that while it was good — particularly for the Swedish economy and the thousands of employees working at the company — judgment on the takeover would have to wait until the company unveiled new product.