Volvo says no talks with Volkswagen beyond diesel cooperation

3 July 1998

Swedish vehicle maker AB Volvo said it had no plans for concrete discussions with Germany's Vokswagen AG beyond the sphere of its diesel motor cooperation.

Company spokesman Stefan Lorentzson declined to comment on the nature of talks between the chief executives of the two companies last Friday but said there would be no more concrete talks on anything other than the current area of cooperation. He said there would be more meetings between the two companies and chief executives Leif Johansson and Ferdinand Piech in the usual cooperation between the groups. Volvo currently buys diesel engines for a number of car models from VW.

Volvo and Volkswagen's share prices rallied on Wednesday after news that the two chief executives met in Sweden last Friday and market speculation of a business cooperation or merger of some kind. At 0830 GMT Friday, Volvo's share price was 3.5 crowns lower at 256.5. Volkswagen share was 18 mark higher at 1,837.

Source: Reuters