IN BRIEF (Page 17)

First for Volvo

Ford Motor Co is tightening control at its sole remaining European brand by appointing Volvo's first non-Swedish chief executive officer since buying the carmaker in 1999.

Stephen Odell, 53, was named on Tuesday to steer a money- losing brand that has lost sales in its biggest market, the US, under Ford stewardship. The US luxury leaders, Toyota Motor Corp's Lexus and Bayerische Motoren Werke's BMW, meanwhile, have boosted US volume by more than 75 percent.