Volvo Gamble Pays Dividends for China’s Geely

Geely’s 2010 acquisition of Sweden’s Volvo Cars is paying huge dividends for the little-known Chinese automaker.

The delegate Li Shufu, chairman of China's Geely Holding Group in front of Volvo cars on the Tiananmen Square, China on March 5, 2011. Feng Li/Getty Images

It wasn’t long ago that Volvo Cars, the Gothenburg-based Swedish automaker, seemed like it was destined to the same fate as its junkyard-bound Swedish competitor, SAAB.

Volvo is thriving today. It delivered 500,000 vehicles in 2015, the most in all of its history, and its earnings tripled and operating margins doubled compared to the previous year.

China's Zhejiang Geely Holdings bought Volvo in 2010 for $1.5 billion in cash and debt from Ford, a coup for the Chinese company.