Known as one of the fastest growing car manufacturers in China, Geely Holding Group have completed the acquisition of Volvo Car Corporation from Ford Motor Company.In an agreement that took more than a year; Geely now own 100% of Volvo and have also brought aboard Stefan Jacoby as the president and CEO of Volvo, who was previously at Volkswagen Group of America.

Regarding the costs of the acquisition, Geely reportedly had to fork out an impressive 1.8 billion U.S. dollars which includes a 200 million U.S dollars note with the balance paid in cash. Geely got the financing for this mammoth amount from Chinese institutions, it’s own balance sheet and international capital market resources.

Volvo Cars will still retain their headquarters and manufacturing presence in Sweden and Belgium. As can be expected, as part of the agreement Ford will remain a close component and supply partner with Volvo, this is to ensure that both parties still maintain the continuity of their vehicles.

The new CEO and president of Volvo Cars, Stefan Jacoby had this to say regarding the acquisition:

“I am honoured to join a company with the prestige and growth potential of Volvo. Our employees, suppliers, dealers – and above all our customers – can be confident that Volvo will preserve its special status as the industry leader in vehicle safety and innovation – even as it pursues new market opportunities.”

Source: Volvo

New car sales throughout the US for many of the major manufacturers are all on the rise and showing strong sales figures. With the global recession now something of a distant memory, the world seems to be getting back into buying new and used cars. Which car manufacturers saw green during the month of May?

Audi cars are always popular, and it’s great to see them having such strong sales. In the US for the month of May, Audi recorded their best ever month of sales. Compared to the previous year there have obviously been massive increases in sales, Audi sales are up this year by 31.4%. The biggest contributers were the Audi Q5, Audi Q7 and Audi A4 which all enjoyed an impressive month of sales.

Mazda cars were not to be outdone with a 35.2% increase in their US sales. The best selling models for Mazda during this period were the Mazda3, the Mazda CX-7 and the Mazda CX-9, which had its best ever month of May.

Toyota cars also squeaked in an increase in month sales compared to 2009. With an overall increase of 6.7% of car sales in the US. Toyota obviously took quite a hit with their recall program to fix defective vehicles, so it was good to see them still doing well.

Volkswagen cars are incredibly popular in South Africa, and their popularity shows no signs of slowing down. They once again dominated the passenger market in South Africa with a 36.3% increase compared to the previous year. Top of the list was the new VW Polo Vivo which sold 2546 units for the month of May. The popularity of the Polo in South Africa has never seemed to slow down. According to Cars.co.za stats, the VW Polo has been the most searched for car for the past few months.

Source: Toyota, VW, Audi, Mazda

Advanced sales of the new Audi A1 have begun, unfortunately the pre-orders are only open to European buyers at the moment. The good news though is the price seems very reasonable, with the price starting at just 15 800 Euros, roughly R151 600. Which for an Audi is not too bad at all. There will no doubt be import costs and the like, so it will likely be more expensive in South Africa but thats something we have come to expect.

The aim of the A1 is to target a completely new Audi audience, as this is Audi’s first venture into the compact car segment. It remains to be seen just how successful the A1 will be, but there definitely seems to be a trend around the world focusing on smaller, cheaper and more economical cars. As seen by the popularity of the Volkswagen Polo and Ford Fiesta. Audi notes that of the initial 100 000 or so people that signed up to be notified of the advanced sales, 90% of them have never owned an Audi. So their plan in theory is working.

The Audi A1 officially goes into production on the 11th May and 50 000 units are expected to be produced by the end of the year.

Source: Audi.

The coveted and ultra-rare car has been auctioned off to an undisclosed buyer for an undisclosed amount. However the amount is said to be between $30 and $40 million, which makes the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC the most valuable car in the world. The car was auctioned off by Gooding and Company, the world-renowned auction house that was entrusted to the estate that formerly owned the Bugatti.

This “almost” one of a kind car was the winner of the Pebble beach Concours d’Elegance best in show car in 2003. The price-tag associated with this car is largely due to it’s rarity. Only 4 models were ever made and each were made slightly different. This particular Bugatti was the first one made and is often described as the most beautiful car ever made (or at least pre-war). It is reported that only 2 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic cars are still in existence today, the other is owned by Ralph Lauren.

Source: Gooding and Company

The Ford Fiesta has long been a favourite among new car buyers and youngsters looking to purchase their first car. The Fiesta has always been a small, fun, nippy compact car that oozes personality and a zest for life.

The Niehl assembly plant in Cologne has just completed it’s 6-millionth Ford Fiesta, a truly impressive milestone for such a well selling car. The plant produces an amazing 1885 models each day, including Ford Fiesta and Fusion models.

This milestone is a testament to how popular the car has remained all these years. The total number of Ford Fiesta models sold comes to a staggering 13 Million since the car went in to production in Europe all the way back in 1976.

Good news for American car buyers is that the new 2011 Ford Fiesta is slated for release in their country!

Source: Ford

As seen in previous months, the trend of increasing car sales remains consistent. Many car manufactures are seeing massive increases in sales as compared to the same month in 2009. While 2009 was obviously a very difficult year for all consumers, not just in the motor industry, with the difficulties of the recession effecting many industries. It is still a welcome sight to see some of the well known brands showing large sales figures and a reviving industry.

Mercedes Benz

As one of the major players in the car industry world wide, Mercedes-Benz has once again showed impressive sales figures for the previous month. Compared to the April 2009 figures, Merc have shown a 21% increase in sales in the USA. The front-runner for Mercedes was the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which is noted as being a gateway to the Merc brand for younger and first time buyers.

Audi

Not to be out-done in the US market, Audi have themselves shown a substantial increase in sales compared to the same month of 2009. Audi increased their sales figures by a massive 33%, this was largely thanks to a rise in popularity of the Audi Q5 and the Audi A5 Cabriolet. Further adding to the strong figures is the Audi A3 which has increased in popularity since the TDI version was named the 2010 Green car of the year.

Volkswagen

As always seems to be the case, whatever the other top German car makers can do, VW can do better. Volkswagen’s US sales figures came out at a staggering 42% increase compared to the same month in 2009. Along with these amazing figures, Volkswagen has also noted its 10th consecutive month of increased growth, which is a truly impressive statistic and it is clear that VW is doing something right, if not many things. For VW it wasn’t one or two particular models that showed impressive increases in sales but rather almost all of them, which combined to reach this massive overall growth.

Source: VW, Merc, Audi

Ford’s impressive new Fiesta continues its great sales figures with another strong month in Europe. The month of March proved to be a successful one for Ford as their Fiesta became the best selling car in Europe, added to that was the news that the Fiesta is the best selling car in Europe for the first quarter of 2010.

Since the Ford Fiesta went on sale 18 months ago, Ford have sold 750 000 units around the world. What is more impressive is how the Fiesta has shut out the Volkswagen Golf with greater sales figures in Europe. In March the Fiesta out-soled the Volkswagen Golf by almost 11 800 units. A truly impressive statistic based on just how popular the VW Golf and Polo models are around the world.

Source: Ford.

With the world-wide recession now clearly a thing of the past, three of the top car manufacturers have once again shown strong sales figures and growth for the month of March. These figures are somewhat deceptive as they are generally compared to March of 2009, which was obviously an atrocious year for the automotive market as global car sales dropped dramatically. However these figures are still impressive in their own right as they clearly show the full recovery the automotive market is marking and a positive future for these major brands.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen of America reported that their March sales included 22,148 car units which resulted in a 40.9% increase compared to the same month in 2009. The Volkswagen Jetta, Golf and Touareg proved to be very popular during this time with their economic pricing and clean diesel engines.

Ford

The Ford brand in America, which includes Lincoln and Mercury vehicles, also posted very strong sales figures for March 2010. The sales figures were up 37% for the quarter compared to the 2009 year. Ken Czubay, Ford vice president US Marketing Sales and Service, reported that it was due to Fords lineup of new vehicles that carried sales figures and that cars, utilities and trucks were all on the up.

Among the top achievers for Ford cars include: The Ford Fusion, the Ford Taurus and the Ford Focus. As for the utility market, the Ford Escape is up 52% in sales.

Audi

Following in the trend and not to be out-done, Audi posted their US sales stats that included a 33.5% increase from the same month in 2009. This increase also gave Audi a personal milestone of its best first-quarter sales since they began selling cars in the US. At the top of the list is the

Audi A5 which set an Audi single month sales record with an increase of 59.8% compared to March 2009. The Audi A3 also saw impressive increases with a jump of 100% sales compared to 2009 which was increased by the new A3 being named 2010 Green car of the year. Also among the top contenders were the: Audi Q5 and Audi Q7 which also saw big gains in sales.

What about used cars?

The used car market, like the new car market, has seen an increase in sales compared to 2009. The market is once again thriving with renewed confidence from used car buyers and generally more money available. As always find a range of used cars on Cars.co.za.

Source: VW, Ford, Audi

Ford Motor Company is increasingly attracting customers who are trading in vehicles from competing brands, one of the keys to Ford’s recent market share gains in U.S.

For the Ford brand, the rate of customers who traded in competitive brand vehicles rose 18 percent from the 2005 to 2009 model year. The conquest rate for Lincoln rose 61 percent, while Mercury saw a 12 percent increase from the 2005 to 2009 model year.

“We’re finding that when customers of competing brands check out our new lineup and understand the quality, fuel efficiency and value we offer, they are increasingly becoming Ford owners,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president of Marketing, Sales and Service. “The strength of our new products is making the difference in a very competitive marketplace.”

Among Ford vehicles, the Fusion Hybrid, Escape Hybrid and Mustang attract the most customers who trade in competing brands. For example, more than 60 percent of trade-ins for the Fusion Hybrid were non-Ford vehicles. More than 50 percent of trade-ins for the Ford Mustang were competitive brands.

“We’re seeing customers from competing brands in the showroom that we haven’t seen in a long time, if ever,” said Kevin Collins, president and owner of the Bill Collins Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealership in Louisville, Ky. “Customers have been looking at our products for two reasons. They are impressed with Ford products’ quality improvement, and they are pleasantly surprised with our entire lineup. Ford is back on their shopping list.”

Winning new customers from competing brands has been a key to Ford’s ability to gain market share in the U.S. Ford gained U.S. market share in 2009, its first full-year market share gain since 1995. Ford has now gained market share for 16 of the past 17 months.

As Ford attracts new customers, it is seeing a demographic shift among its owners. Since 2002, the average household income of Ford customers has risen about 20 percent and the number of Ford customers with college degrees has risen nearly 10 percent.

Source: Ford

• January continues the trend of increasing market share for the company, following two consecutive quarters of improvement to end 2009

• Dodge Brand sales up versus the same time period last year

• Dodge Journey year-over-year sales climb for the third month in a row

• Jeep Compass, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Commander all post year-over-year sales improvements

• Chrysler Town & Country minivan sales increase 6 percent compared with January 2009

• Ten Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles post year-over-year sales gains

Auburn Hills, Mich. , Feb 2, 2010  -

Chrysler Group LLC today announced January U.S. sales data continues to show improvement, following two quarters of increasing share. The popular Dodge Journey, which in 2010 delivers more excitement, functionality and value, posted year-over-year gains for the third consecutive month. In addition, the Jeep® brand saw half of its line-up improve sales year-over-year, reinforcing the Jeep brand’s heritage as the authentic SUV with class-leading capability, craftsmanship and versatility for people who seek extraordinary journeys.

“The company continues to make positive strides each month and that trend continued in January,” said Fred Diaz, President and Chief Executive Officer–Ram Brand and Lead Executive for the Sales Organization, Chrysler Group LLC. “With refreshed products and all-new models hitting the marketplace this year, Chrysler Group employees and dealers are excited to share with consumers all the good things happening in 2010.”

Chrysler Group reported total U.S. sales for January of 57,143 units. U.S. sales decreased 8 percent compared with the same period last year (62,157 units). Inventory (172,803 units) is down 52 percent compared with January 2009 (359,980 units), representing a 73-day supply. Overall industry figures for January are projected to come in at an estimated 10.9 million SAAR.

Source: Chrysler