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
Geely leading compact modular architecture. The company has also invested in establishing colleges across China including the Beijing Geely University, Zhejiang Automotive Technical School, Hunan Geely Automotive Technical. The company has students enrolled within its schools with the goal of developing Chinese automotive industry talents. In 2013, 16 trainees from this program started their careers in Geely Group. A small Geely sedan, the CK, performed badly in an informal crash test conducted by a Russian magazine in 2007. As a result, Geely reviewed its expansion plans. A 2009 1.3-liter Geely CK 1 model without airbags earned a zero-star rating in a