Geely Automobile Holdings

Follow that car!

It’s a cliché from the best and worst of Hollywood movies. But it appears to be all the rage in investment circles. The next big idea: buying into China’s automakers.

Goldman Sachs – which bet against mortgage-backed securities and won – has pledged to invest $334 million in Geely Automobile Holdings. Geely’s parent company Geely Group Holdings, China’s 10th biggest car maker, is certainly ambitious. It wants to raise money to double production and acquire new technology with the possible $2 billion purchase of Ford’s Volvo business.

It already has a stake in Manganese Bronze Holdings – the British company that makes the world famous black London taxi. Looking at Geely’s current line up – Free Cruiser, Geely Kingkong, Vision and Panda -- it certainly won’t have Western consumers salivating. Although it has plans to flood the world with cars designed to meet local demands.