A Scandinavian design, a strict but luxurious interior, perfect engineering, and, of course, an unmatched safety offered by this Swedish car brand has made it unstoppable and one of the most reliable auto manufacturers in the world. The Volvo Group (known as AB Volvo) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. Moreover, it also supplies marine and industrial drive systems and complete solutions for financial services. The name comes from Latin and the meaning of the word Volvo is ‘’I spin”, “I twist”. As time passed, the main meaning became “I roll”, conjugated from “volvere”.
Volvo Logo Meaning & History
The Volvo’s logo is a historic chemical sign of Iron or may as well symbolize Mars, the god of war. As Sweden is known for its quality iron, the iron sign used to exemplify the strength of iron. The history of the Volvo logo is not complicated others. In the early years, a simple diagonal iron bar was used to attach the Volvo’s symbol to a grille on the first car models. At that time, no one predicted that this iron bar would become Volvo’s official logo. The Volvo emblem is completed with the Volvo inscription, placed on the blue background and embedded into the silver circle. In 2006, the Volvo’s symbol was given the 3D shape.
The Volvo logo has blue and silver colors. The blue color in the Volvo symbol reflects the reliability and excellence of the brand, while the silver on the Volvo logo depicts creativity and excellence.
Volvo History Timeline
The Volvo history originated in 1924 when Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larsson founded the company with the motto of building cars that could withstand the rigors of the country’s rough roads and cold temperatures. Three years later, the Volvo car was founded that specializes in sport utility vehicles, station wagons, sedans and compact executive sedans.
The origin of Volvo might be a smooth task but its journey to becoming the best went through many ups and downs. Come and explore the Volvo history timeline.
Volvo origin-1950: Though the Volvo group was founded in 1924, Volvo Cars was founded in 1927 as a subsidiary company 100% owned by SKF. The Volvo introduced the first-ever Volvo car series, the Volvo ÖV4 (nicknamed the “Jakob”). In 1928, Volvo introduced Volvo’s first commercial truck and attracted attention outside the country. Soon in 1934, Volvo presented their first bus. In the 40s, Volvo started producing aircraft engines and by 1942, it purchased the Swedish precision engineering company Svenska Flygmotor. Basically, the Volvo became more widely known outside of Sweden during World War II by serving the armed forces and expanding its operations significantly.
1950-1980: In the 1950s, Volvo was at the peak of its financial health and prioritizes safety above everything. In 1957, Volvo provided two-point safety belts for drivers and front-seat passengers in its cars. A year later, it introduced belts for the rear seat passengers also. Volvo became the first to provide safety belts as standard equipment for all of its cars. In 1955, Volvo entered the American auto market and this was a notable start for the brand. In 1963, Volvo opened the Volvo Halifax Assembly plant, the first assembly plant in the company’s history outside of Sweden.
Volvo’s first sports car, P1900, came in 1956 but soon replaced by a highly successful P1800 in 1960. In 1966, Volvo introduced a new leader in terms of safety. This Volvo 144 was equipped with four-wheel disc brakes, a collapsible steering column, and brand new locks on three-point safety belts. In the 70s, Volvo sold about 2 million vehicles worldwide.
1980-2000: In 1980, Volvo introduced the first turbocharged car. By 1985, Roger Holtback was promoted to head of the Volvo Car Corporation, and Håkan Frisinger was named the president of AB Volvo. Volvo’s sales were extremely strong during the mid-1980s and 1986 marked a record year for Volvo in the US, with 113,267 cars sold. Also in the same year, the company acquired GM Heavy Truck Corp.
In the late 90s, the Volvo group bought a 5% stake in Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors and Ford acquired Volvo cars In January 1999. So, the Volvo group became a manufacturer of trucks, buses and construction equipment owned by Swedish interests and the Volvo Cars, a manufacturer of automobiles owned by Ford Motor Company.
2000-Today: Ford restructured Volvo cars and launched luxuries second-generation Volvo S80 and the new small premium crossover Volvo XC60. When the global economic crisis hit the US automakers, Ford sold the Volvo cars to Chinese car company Geely Holding Group in 2010. Under Geely ownership, Volvo sold more than half a million cars for the first time in its 89-year history. Today, after spending decades in the automobile industry, the Volvo still stands for maximum security and consistent technological innovation.
Volvo continues to build a range of luxury models comprising sedans, hatches, wagons, and SUVs. Most of them have both petrol and diesel options and offer safety at their best. Volvo’s latest models are fit for everyone’s needs and are worth investing your money in.
List of latest Volvo car models include:
• Volvo S60 (Price: $35,800 onwards)
• Volvo S60 Cross Country (Price: $44,350 onwards)
• Volvo S60 Inscription (Price: $36,950 onwards)
• Volvo S90 (Price: $48,100 onwards)
• Volvo S90 Hybrid (Price: $63,650 onwards)
• Volvo V60 (Price: $37,145 onwards)
• Volvo V60 Cross Country (Price: $41,850 onwards)
• Volvo V90 (Price: $49,950 onwards)
• Volvo V90 Cross Country (Price: $52,300 onwards)
• Volvo XC40 (Price: $33,200 onwards)
• Volvo XC60 (Price: $39,200 onwards)
• Volvo XC60 Hybrid (Price: $52,900 onwards)
• Volvo XC90 (Price: $47,200 onwards)
• Volvo XC90 Hybrid (Price: $66,300 onwards)
Volvo is on a roll right now with new model launches. The company now moved its focus to electrify every model in its current line-up and revealed that it won’t be launching any all-new models until after 2020.