Faced with large losses and sagging sales in North America, Ford is ready to consider offers for its Volvo division, insiders say. As recently as two weeks ago, the company insisted that Volvo was not for sale, the New York Times reports. Already on the market are two other Ford luxury divisions, Land Rover and Jaguar.
The company needs to come up with some cash. It lost $12.6B in 2006, and sales are down 11.1 % this year. It has also fallen to third place in the American market, behind Toyota. Sales of Volvo are also trending downward in the US, and sources say it's not yet clear who would want to buy the division. Ford purchased it for 6.5B in 1999. (More Ford stories.)