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Ford Motor Co. might be ready to end its long-running European tour.
The automaker reportedly is actively shopping its premium Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover brands, news that comes just months after unloading the prestigious Aston Martin nameplate.
Selling the remaining members of its Premier Automotive Group, which has its North American headquarters in Irvine, California, would end Ford's 20-year effort to expand its sales of luxury cars by buying European automakers.
A handover is not likely to register with many American motorists, given Ford's arm's-length relationship with its foreign brands.
"Very few people actually knew that Ford owned Jaguar or Land Rover or even Volvo," said Dick Messer, director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
Streamlining
A sale would allow Ford, which lost $12.7 billion last year, to focus on getting its core North American business in order, analysts said.
In terms of generating cash, "a sale isn't going to make or break Ford," said automotive analyst John Novak of Morningstar Inc. "But it would simplify the company's structure and allow management to focus on the problems that ultimately will make or break the company."
Ford hired two investment banks to handle the possible sale after holding unsuccessful talks with Italian automaker Fiat earlier this year about a possible sale of Jaguar and Land Rover, the trade publication Automotive News reported.
Whether a sale would be good for the three brands depends on who buys them, said Tom duPont, publisher of the duPont Registry, a luxury lifestyle chronicle. He doesn't see Toyota, General Motors or another mass-market car maker as a good fit.
"It's a little bit like trying to sell Godiva Chocolate to Hershey," duPont said. "They are both candy, but they speak to an entirely different audience."
Ford sold most of its stake in Aston Martin to a consortium of investors that included a noted British racing mogul and a well-known car collector. The match bodes well for the future of Aston Martin, duPont said. Potential buyers for Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover include Chinese or Korean automakers looking to upgrade their image, analysts said, or possibly a private equity buyer with an itch to manage a prestige auto brand.
Trend
The agreement in May by private equity company Cerberus Capital Management to buy Chrysler from DaimlerBenz for $7.4 billion indicates that investment companies are interested in the auto sector, said analyst Shelly Lombard of research company Gimme Credit. "If ever there was a time off-load these things, this is it," she said.
Ford bought a controlling stake in Aston Martin in 1987 as it moved to expand its luxury car offerings beyond its own Lincoln brand. It acquired Jaguar in 1989, and Swedish automaker Volvo was added a decade later. Ford bought Land Rover, a British company known for its big SUVs, from BMW in 2000. The Premier Automotive Group lost $2.32 billion last year.
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