Ford has announced that Chinese auto makers Geely will be the new owners of Volvo brand. The long-awaited deal was finally confirmed between the two auto companies whereby the Swedish brand Volvo was off-loaded to Geely for $2 billion.

Ford Motors Company intends to focus on its three major brands – Ford, Lincoln and Mercury. It has sold its other major brands like Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin in past 2-3 years. The new Volvo sale to Chinese car maker Geely will be completed by first quarter of 2010. Both the companies had been in talks about the deal since October but transfer of intellectual property rights had proven to be stumbling blocks. Now they have reached an agreement with Ford to own the intellectual property rights to Volvo’s key technologies including those related to safety and environment. Other technologies related to manufacturing and design etc. will now be owned by Geely.

Geely had already been expanding its bases quickly across the world. However, acquisition of established brands like Volvo now gives it access to the much needed design and manufacturing knowledge.