Rival Swedish carmakers Volvo and Saab may start an out of the ordinary cooperation. Both companies actively seek ways to boost efficiency and increase sales – and the best way to pull that off may be to collaborate.
“We are interested in having a discussion with Saab Automobile on cooperating in many areas, and when it comes to cooperating on convertible models, it could be interesting,” Volvo spokesman Olle Axelson told business daily Dagens Indusri.
Volvo’s convertible soft-top model has seen sales plummet in recent year. The model is today made in a joint venture with Italian company Pininfarina.
“We have the capacity to produce 40,000 cars a year and we could accomodate production of Saab’s cabriolet models or any other niche models,” Walter Fortgens, chief executive of Volvo and Pininfarina’s joint venture, told the business daily. “I am interested in looking at most options to fill the factory.”
Last month Saab Automobile and BMW announced an agreement for the supply of engines to be used in next-generation Saab vehicles.
Volvo Cars was recently bought by China’s Zhejiang Geely and Saab by Dutch sports car firm Spyker.
