Detroit manufacturers still want to sell Swedish marques. Both of them said there have been companies interested in the purchases, but they do not want to announce what are those firms.

Ford bought Volvo for $6.5 billion in 1999. It plans to get rid of the company for about $1-2 billion. Many firms in various parts of the world have brought their offers and Ford of Europe says they “held preliminary discussions” with them and were “pleased with the number and quality of these parties”. It has been clear before that some Asian manufacturers show interest in Volvo, like Chery, Geely, Chang’an and Dongfeng. The other candidates for the purchase are kept in secret.

Saab is another Swedish manufacturer that is looking for a mother-company. General Motors bought it in 2000, but cannot handle it now in the hard economic times. Although in the end of 2008 there have been no companies interested in Saab, GM says there are several parties that think about acquiring the marque and the company will be sold by the end of the year. However, nobody knows what those mysterious buyers are.