Ford has dismissed rumours that it is considering a sale of its Volvo subsidiary to BMW.

Swedish newspaper, the Goteborgs Posten, quoted sources from within Ford as saying BMW was studying the possibility of taking over Volvo. The Financial Times also said BMW has started informal talks with Ford about acquiring the Swedish manufacturer.

A Ford spokesperson said: “Ford is not in discussions with BMW or any other carmaker regarding interest in the Volvo Car Corp.

“We have seen this kind of speculation for the past year, as Ford has been assessing our operations and portfolio, as any good business does and we will continue to do."

Ford sold its Aston Martin brand, part of the Premier Automotive Group (PAG), to a private consortium of investors headed by Prodrive founder David Richards. This prompted rumours that Ford was looking to sell off its other PAG brands, Land Rover, Jaguar and Volvo.

Fredrik Arp, chief executive of Volvo Cars, said: “Ford is committed to keeping Volvo.”