STOCKHOLM — Sweden's Volvo Cars and its Chinese owner Geely said Monday they are considering merging into a single group to better share technology and financial resources while preserving their separate brands.

The merged firm "would have the scale, knowledge and resources to be a leader in the ongoing transformation of the automotive industry," they said in a statement.

"The combination would preserve the distinct identity of each of the brands Volvo, Geely, Lynk & Co and Polestar," they added.

Geely bought Volvo in 2010 from Ford which hadn't been able to turn around the Swedish automaker. But under the Chinese firm Volvo has rebounded and smashed its sales records.

Volvo sold more than 705,000 vehicles in 2019, besting the record it set in 2018 by 10 percent, and the automaker expects continued growth this year.

The statement said the firms would create a joint working group to prepare a proposal for the boards of both firms.

"A combined company would have access to the global capital market through Hong Kong and with the intention to subsequently list in Stockholm as well," it added.

Volvo put off a share listing in 2018 due to tensions in global markets. — AFP