Report Says Saab Leader May Become New Volvo CEO

The current CEO of Saab Automobile, Jan Ake Jonsson, is one of several candidates for the CEO position at Volvo Cars, according to reports by a Swedish newspaper quoting sources today.

Dagens Industri reported that Jonsson is included in a “handful” of serious candidates for the top spot at the Gothenburg-based carmaker, and that Volvo has already made contact with the Saab leader.

Zheijang Geely Holding Group, the biggest private automaker in China and the parent of Hong Kong’s Geely Automobile, sealed a deal in March with Ford to purchase Volvo cars in the largest overseas car purchase in China’s history.

Volvo hopes to introduce a new CEO by the time the deal is signed in August, the newspaper said. The current CEO of Volvo Cars, Stephen Odell, intends to leave to lead Ford Europe, the paper reported.

Dutch luxury automaker Spyker Cars acquired Saab from General Motors.

Spokespeople Remain Quiet

When asked about the CEO position by the Swedish paper, Jonsson refused to comment. “I have promised [Spyker CEO] Victor Muller to stay at Saab for a while longer,” Jonsson was quoted as saying.

The spokesman of Volvo Cars, Per-Ake Froberg, also had no comment, replying: “This is up to Geely.” Saab Automobile was not immediately reachable for comment.

Volvo Cars, which has not made a full-year profit since 2005 in spite of record-breaking sales in 2007, has hemorrhaged money in the last few years and eliminated thousands of jobs in an attempt to become profitable again.

Yang Jiang, Zheijang Geely’s president, has stated that Geely, which intends to build a Volvo manufacturing plant in China, will not tolerate financial losses from Volvo “even for a year.”