SWEDISH carmaker Volvo Cars and its Chinese owner Geely have said they are considering combining their businesses.

They said it would create ‘a strong global group’ that ‘would accelerate financial and technological synergies between the two companies’.

A combined company would still preserve the distinct identity of each of the brands – Volvo, Geely, Lynk & Co and Polestar, Volvo’s electric brand – but in a joint statement, they said a combined group ‘would have the scale, knowledge and resources to be a leader in the ongoing transformation of the automotive industry’.

It added that it would be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ‘and with the intention to subsequently list in Stockholm as well’.

The two will create a joint working group to prepare a proposal for their respective boards.

A deal would be subject to the approval by the boards and shareholders of Geely and Volvo Cars, as well as by regulators.

Volvo Cars is based in Gothenburg but has been owned by China’s Geely holding company since 2010.

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