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AUTO REVIEW

2018 Volvo S90

By Stephen Schutz, MD

In 2010, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (better known as Geely Ford failed? Instead of sending an army of administrators to Volvo
Motors) purchased Volvo Cars Inc. from Ford Motor Co. for $1.8 to “help” as Ford did, Geely was hands-off with their new Swedish
billion. It was the first major automotive purchase by a Chinese com- friends and basically said, “Do your thing, and we’ll pay for it.”
pany, and it has turned out to be very good for car buyers — the A quick cold shower: yes, Geely-financed Volvos are increasingly
vehicles being turned out by Geely/Volvo are far superior to those popular, especially in China, and the XC90, XC60, and XC40
produced by Ford/Volvo. And the Swedish carmaker is now solidly crossovers are selling very well in the U.S. But, at least here in this
profitable. country, Volvo has been goosing their numbers with a lot of fleet
Amusingly, when Geely’s chairman, Li Shufu, first met with Ford’s sales to rental car companies.
CFO at the 2008 Detroit auto show, he wasn’t taken seriously as a po- Anyway, I recently drove a new Volvo S90 sedan for a week. It
tential buyer. But as the two talked and Li convinced the Ford execu- was everything I expected it to be: quiet, luxurious, Scandinavian,
tive that he was serious, a deal took shape, and in 2010 Ford sold Volvo and very good.
to a company very few Americans (or Swedes) had ever heard of. Before I discuss the S90 though, another cold shower: in the first
It was a good deal all around. Ford got $1.8 billion for a money- seven months of 2018, Volvo sold about 42,000 XC models (XC40,
losing division, and Geely gained a valuable global brand with po- 60, and 90) compared with just over 6,000 90-series sedans and wag-
tential. And wow has Volvo realized its potential. Eight years after ons. Crossovers rule the roost now, and sedans/wagons are likely to
Geely paid to both buy Volvo and then finance an expensive reboot continue to fade for the foreseeable future.
of its entire product lineup, the automaker from Gothenburg re- While the S90 sedan is based on the same platform as the XC90
ported earnings of almost $2 billion in 2017. And Volvo is expected crossover, it has a lower center of gravity and tuned suspension set-
to be even more profitable this year. How did Geely succeed where tings to optimize handling and therefore drives better. Nevertheless,

44 San Antonio Medicine • September 2018