Ford Motor Company sports car maker Aston Martin in 1989, later selling it on March 12, 2007, although retaining an 8% stake. Ford purchased Volvo Cars of Sweden in 1999, selling it to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2010. In November 2008, it reduced its 33.4% controlling interest in Mazda of Japan to a 13.4% non-controlling interest. On November 18, 2010, Ford reduced their stake further to just 3%, citing the reduction of ownership would allow greater flexibility to pursue growth in emerging markets. Ford and Mazda remain strategic partners through exchanges of technological information and joint ventures, including an American joint venture
Emgrand EC7 EC7 was officially launched in South Africa in 2013. It's sold at R149,000. In Sri Lanka, Emgrand EC7 is sold under the Micro Emgrand brand which is owned by Geely. The car was scheduled to be launched into the United Kingdom market in late 2012. Geely set-up Geely Auto UK, which is a jointly-held subsidiary of Manganese Bronze Holdings which also owns taxi specialist LTI. Geely Auto UK Ltd will be based in Coventry. In partnership with Manganese Bronze, Geely started setting up a 40-strong dealer organisation, choosing small family-style garages to sell the cars, described as: "The sort of