Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Ford Motor Co., which have been working on a deal for Geely to acquire Ford's Swedish Volvo brand, have reached a deal under which Geely would have ownership of key Volvo technologies and intellectual property, a Europe-based Geely spokesman said.

The deal, disclosed in a briefing to journalists in Beijing yesterday, is a critical step in moving toward a final sale.

Geely is hoping to acquire full ownership of Volvo, whose operations have been tightly wound with Ford's over the past decade.

Geely's briefing followed a visit by a delegation of Geely executives to Volvo in Sweden last week. The group also met with union officials in Brussels, Belgium, said Geely spokesman Tim Burt.

Ford first announced its intent to sell Volvo last December. Last month, Ford said that Chinese automaker Geely is the preferred bidder.

An agreement on intellectual property rights is critical to the completion of the sale of Volvo since Ford has integrated much of the Swedish car company's product development plans into Ford's product plans.

Under the framework agreement, Geely said it would have ownership of key Volvo safety and environmental intellectual property.

"Any agreement we reach with Geely would take into account issues such as intellectual property rights and protections," Ford spokes-man John Gardiner said in a statement e-mailed to the Detroit Free Press.

Ford acquired Volvo for $6.4 billion in 1999. For the first half of 2009, Ford reported a loss of $231 million compared with a pre-tax loss of $120 million for the same period last year.