About Volvo Cars
AB Volvo was founded on April 14, 1927, in Gothenburg, Sweden that makes buses, trucks and construction equipment as well as cars. However, like many other car manufacturers, they did not start out making cars. Founders Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larsson set up the company to produce the safest cars that they possibly could, a passion that was driven by the death of Assar Gabrielsson's wife in a car accident.
The first Volvo car left the factory on 14 April 1927 and was the 'OV4'. This was made until 1929 but only 996 cars were made. In 1929 the 'OV4' was replaced by a new car, the model PV651. This car was more successful and helped them to become a serious contender within the automotive world.
In May 1932 Volvo had produced in total, 10,000 cars. They then decided to produce a more affordable car that they described to be "for the people". This was to be the PV 51 and was revealed in 1936 and was a smaller version of the PV36.
During the war, the PV444 was revealed and this became the most significant car of the war era. The car was small and was to be their best seller throughout the 1960s. They also made the P1800 during the 1960s and this was Volvo's first ever sports car. This car was incredibly popular and featured on the television programme, "The Saint" which starred Roger Moore.
Volvo prided itself on its excellent quality and safety; this was still its main priority and the 240 series that replaced the 140 model had many safety innovations such as crumple zones and the introduction of rear-facing child seats. This car together with their 340 models contributed to the bulk of their sales during the 1970s and 1980s.
They introduced a new model in the 1990s, the 850, which was an executive car with front-wheel drive. This won many awards for its numerous safety features. At this point Volvo remained one of the very few independent car makers and due to increased costs they did seek to partner with Renault in 1993 but sadly this deal fell through. They therefore had to change their marketing strategy and new innovative cars were made. They included new sleek cars such as the S40 and V40.
Soon after they produced the C70 coupe and convertible models and they were responsible for completely revitalising the Volvo image when they most needed it. However, they still focussed on safety and quality with their new range.
Sadly Volvo Cars was bought out in 1998 by the American car company, Ford, they had been owned by Volvo. The company was bought for $6.45 billion and Volvo used this money to acquire the commercial car division of Renault and Mack Trucks, an American truck manufacturer that at the time was owned by Renault. As part of the deal with Mack Tricks, Renault bought 20 per cent of AB Volvo's shares.
Volvo's motto is "Volvo for life" which echoes the extreme safety of their cars.