Volvo
Volvo was established in 1915 as a subsidiary of a Swedish ball bearing manufacturer. Volvo, “I roll” in Latin, relates to ball bearings. In 1924, the car company founders decided to start construction of a Swedish car that could endure Sweden’s rough roads and cold temperatures. The auto manufacturer considers itself officially founded in April 1927, when the first car, the Volvo ÖV 4 series, rolled out of the Gothenburg factory.
The founders built only 280 cars that year. The first truck released in January 1928, the “Series 1,” was an immediate success that attracted attention outside Sweden. In 1930, the company sold 639 cars and the export of trucks started soon afterward. The brand’s cars did not become known outside of Sweden until after the Second World War. It acquired its engine supplier in 1935 and entered the Swedish stock exchange that year.
The Volvo PV444 passenger car entered production in 1947. Being the smallest car yet, it spearheaded the move into the profitable American market in 1955. North America has been the company’s main export outlet since. As for production facilities, in 1964 it opened its Torslanda plant in Sweden for large cars and sport utility vehicles, in 1965 the Ghent Belgium plant for small cars, and finally in 1989 the Uddevalla plant in Sweden which is now operating for both Volvo and Pininfarina of Italy.
In the early 1970s, the company acquired the passenger car division of the Dutch company DAF. They marketed their small cars as Volvos before releasing the Dutch-built Volvo 340; one of the biggest-selling cars in the 1980s UK market. The business had a record year in the USA in 1986, selling 113,267 cars. The Japanese luxury brands Acura and Lexus in subsequent years took a significant market share that was never regained.
In 1999, Volvo decided to sell its automobile manufacturing assets. Ford saw advantages in acquiring it for its Premier Automotive Group a profitable, prestigious mid-size European automobile manufacturer famous for safety. Ford completed the acquisition of Volvo Cars in 2000 at a price of $6.45 billion. As a result, two separate companies, Volvo Group, a manufacturer of commercial vehicles owned by Swedish interests, and Volvo Car Corporation or Volvo Cars, now utilize the Volvo trademark.
While Volvo Car Corporation was part of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group with Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover, its range of vehicles grew significantly. After selling Jaguar and Land Rover in 2008, Ford decided to keep Volvo Cars despite mounting losses and economic downturns by pushing it further upward to a market position alongside Mercedes and BMW. The result was the luxurious Volvo S80 and the new premium crossover Volvo XC60.
When the 2008 global economic crisis threatened American automakers, the Swedish government became anxious about what might happen to the brand if Ford filed for bankruptcy. Anxiety increased after layoffs at Volvo, and Ford’s December 2008 announcement of a possible sale or spinoff of Volvo as an independent company. The Chinese company Geely Holding Group ultimately took over the Swedish automaker in the largest overseas acquisition so far by a Chinese automaker.
Volvo Cars now manufactures and markets a range of sport utility vehicles, station wagon, sedans, and coupes in the USA, Sweden, China, Germany, the UK, and Belgium. They saw a 20.3-percent increase over 2010 due to global sales of 449,255.
