The Start of Volvo Supremacy 

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind) 07/20/2017 at 11:07 • Filed to: Volvo

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Volvo is !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in parent Geely’s Lynk & CO brand. I’m only pointing this out because it is all just a step so that Geely can eventually have Volvo become the Volvo Group and lead Lotus, Lynk, Polestar, Volvo Cars, and Volvo Trucks. We, specifically the US, need to prepare to see Volvo the same way we see Daimler or VAG because the Geely name will be avoided in US marketing.

Volvo Cars, Lotus, and all these other brands won’t be owned by a Chinese company, they’ll be owned by Volvo Group. Completely different perspective and people will accept cars coming from China because Volvo means safety and build quality first to most people. There’s a reason all the cars coming in that are built in China are lower volume models at the upper end of a premium or luxury brand.

Go Volvo.

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Cé hé sin > Wobbles the Mind 07/20/2017 at 11:55

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Isn’t this Volvo Cars though, not AB Volvo who continue with the truck and construction equipment businesses? Volvo trucks aren’t about to become part of a Lotus/Lynk etc grouping.

Wobbles the Mind > Cé hé sin 07/20/2017 at 12:22

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I’m banking on a Volvo Group being created out of Volvo Cars as an intermediary between all these brands. Pretty much the same thing you see with Hyundai Motor Group in which HMG controls Hyundai and Kia but Hyundai is in control of Genesis and has a 34% stake in Kia even though it’s HMG that actually owns Kia.

Nissan Motor Company actually has a similar situation in which NiMoCo controls Nissan and Mitsubishi but Nissan owns Infiniti and has a 34% stake in Mitsubishi. I’m hoping this Nissan-Mitsubishi thing helps people understand that Hyundai and Kia aren’t the same company.

I’m saying that we will eventually have a Volvo Group which controls Volvo Cars which will probably end up with a 34% stake in Lynk. I think once Volvo Group is created you’ll see Geely put their share of Lynk and Lotus to Volvo Group and run them alongside AB Volvo until VolGr and AB Volvo are consolidated into one Group that looks more like VAG.

I’m pretty much speculating what Volvo will look like by 2025.

fintail > Wobbles the Mind 07/20/2017 at 12:45

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Good luck with that supremacy. Volvo has some nice products, but it’ll be a tough row to hoe against some very established and competent names who don’t have the spectre hanging over them of benefiting a repressive abusive government (that is, if it ever turns a real profit).

Lynk is still a wish upon a star, no?

Amoore100 > fintail 07/21/2017 at 00:19

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Jesus christ someone’s salty. I now own a Volvo and a Lenovo laptop, both excellent products supposedly backing a “Communist” regime. Do you realize that China isn’t the only place with awful human rights violations and oppression and corruption? I don’t understand the vendetta against the Chinese when many other nations have it just as bad, if not worse. China just happens to be the biggest of them, and I don’t think ignoring them is the way to solve their problems. We need to actively work with them, partner with them, break them down from the inside out rather than outright discriminating against them.

fintail > Amoore100 07/21/2017 at 11:13

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Oh yeah I am salty, but it isn’t like I am wrong :)

ou can try that, I will vote with my wallet - which isn’t ignoring them, but is as much as the average consumer can do. Right now IMO buying a car where profits benefit the repressive and untouchable regime (which is a big statement, as I sincerely doubt Volvo is running in the black) is no different than buying a German car in 1938 or a Russian car in 1953. I wouldn’t support those regimes either. In a kleptocracy, supporting business is supporting government.

Not sure why “communist” is quoted, China is as communist as Canada is socialist. It definitely isn’t the only place with social and environmental crime, but it is a leader in those areas, and on the world stage, acts with impunity. It has a casualty record not unlike the Third Reich, with none of the baggage.

Don’t worry, on an actual policy level, there is certainly no “discriminating” - their kleptocrats are allowed to buy US residency with a relatively modest investment, where ill-gotten gold can then be laundered in trendy real estate markets. Heck, Kushner courts them. Same in Canuckistan. It’s not only local demand that causes dumpy houses to be 7 figures in certain locales. Our consumer dollars at work.

Amoore100 > fintail 07/21/2017 at 14:10

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I’m not saying I’m against what you’re doing but to me it seems, again, incredibly petty. Sure it benefits your conscience, but I’m not going to buy products that are worse because they’re “better for society.” So you’re ok with buying things from Apple who takes advantage of low cost Chinese manufacturing but dislike a Swedish manufactured car because the money comes from China? Who is the United States indebted towards again? Also, China is hardly Communist; capitalist totalitarianism is more like it. And you’re hardly a political-justice warrior; smug first-world naysayer is more like it.

fintail > Amoore100 07/21/2017 at 17:48

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I don’t buy Apple products, I’ve never been attracted to cults :) For other products, I will buy when there is no other option, which is quite common anymore, but when given a choice, I will definitely consider all alternatives.

Who said anything about “better for society”? Why the quotes? How long will those Swedish manufactured cars continued to be built there?

Regarding debt, I would call that mutually assured destruction. When you owe the bank a million dollars, that’s your problem. When you owe the bank a trillion dollars, that’s the bank’s problem. Not sure how debt is relevant, but it makes a nice distraction.

I never claimed China was communist. It most definitely is not, although it evolved into the worst parts of places masquerading under the name.

I also never claimed to be a political justice warrior, whatever that is. Me voting with my wallet will have zero impact in the macro or micro world, but it will make me have better thoughts about my choice. If I don’t want to support that system, I don’t have to. Just as some love products made in Japan or the UK or USA and buy them whenever possible.

Why should I support the kleptocracy? That might be a better question.

Amoore100 > fintail 07/21/2017 at 18:42

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I’m not asking that, I’m asking what important role you think you play in the face of billions, no trillions of individuals who are serviced by this “kleptocracy” daily.

fintail > Amoore100 07/21/2017 at 18:49

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I am asking it, why should I support the kleptocracy?

I never claimed I played an important role. Individuals don’t play important roles. No role other than buying what I want. Like I said, there are products from past regimes I also would not have supported.

No need to use quotes, it is generally accepted that the PRC is a kleptocracy. And the global population is still a bit below a trillion :)

Amoore100 > fintail 07/21/2017 at 19:02

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Alright, I’ll be perfectly honest with you: I dislike the PRC’s kleptocracy as much as you do, but at the same time I can’t deny the quality and functionality of many of the products they produce. As a person who tries to prize functionality and pragmatism over everything, it just seems rather mind bending to refuse to buy a very high quality and well-valued product over simply nothing more than ideological stubbornness. I will confess, I was quite disappointed to have to get a Lenovo over an Asus and go against my nationalistic heritage, but there was no arguing that the Lenovo was a better deal and that’s probably why I’m salty. Really what I’m trying to figure out is where you draw the line. Clearly I don’t allow my buying habits to be shaped by such national affiliations, but for someone as conscientious as yourself, how far do you go? Do you refuse clothes made in China, teas picked and dried in the Mainland, and cars with Chinese sourced parts (probably all modern ones)? Help me out, I’m honestly confused.

Also, sorry, I accidentally mixed it up with China’s annual GDP .

fintail > Amoore100 07/21/2017 at 19:58

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Yes, they make many useful products, along with many shoddy and copied products. It’s the land of stolen IP - at least Geely bought Volvo rather than stealing the tech or taking it in a de facto manner via a shortsighted joint venture. China has the capability of quality, but maybe the kleptocracy doesn’t foster innovation or care.

It’s not possible to draw a hard line, as like you say, many products have components, or there are simply no other options. But, when objective qualities are identical, I will avoid when possible. Price is not the only factor. I cringe when I see (real, expensive) Hugo Boss items made in China, and won’t buy. I wouldn’t embrace a “Made in China” MB (I am still iffy about Alabama-built models) and wouldn’t buy one. I don’t care for tea, it’s just a conduit for sugar for me. I am leery of Chinese-made food, due to issues in the past. I don’t see how it is confusing - I avoid what I can. Just as I would have in the past with other regimes which were quite similar in many ways.

GDP only concerns me on a per capita basis :)