Changan Auto says it has no plan to buy Volvo

Shanghai, May 7 (Gasgoo.com) Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., China's second-biggest maker of minivans, said on Thursday that it isn't planning a bid for Volvo, denying earlier reports by domestic media, according to Reuters.

"The company currently has no plan to acquire Volvo and has not hired any agencies for legal services for an acquisition," Changan said in a stock exchange statement, adding that it would not pursue such a plan in at least three months.

Changan president Xu Liuping hinted at last month's Shanghai auto show that the company was eying acquisitions overseas as it prepares to enter the European and North American market, but declined to confirm such a deal.

"The longer the crisis lasts, the bigger the chance of failure or a scale-down of some American and European automakers, and that has provided a chance for entry by Chinese manufacturers," Xu hinted.

The Chinese automaker said on yesterday that its April sales jumped 51 percent from a year earlier to 117,846 vehicles, boosted by government's stimulus measures.