Volvo company is one of the car brands that has a great contribution in the formation of car manufacturing in the world, because the activities of this brand are not limited to the production of cars and it plays a big role in the industry. Like other hot and cold brands, this company has gone through many ups and downs to become one of the world’s automotive giants. The Volvo brand name is synonymous with safety, quality and reliability. Volvo has historically been known for practicality since its inception.
Volvo is a Swedish multinational brand that plays an important role in the automotive industry. This company operates in other fields such as manufacturing, distributing and selling trucks, buses and construction equipment and even wider fields. In 2016, Volvo was recognized as the second largest manufacturer of heavy trucks in the world. The headquarters of this company is located in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Until 1999 and before being sold to Ford Motor Company, Volvo was considered a part of AB Volvo. From 2010 until today, this company belongs to the Chinese company Geely.
Volvo car history
First, the Volvo brand was registered as a SKF bearing trademark in 1911. The reason for choosing this name was the word VOLVERE in Latin, which means I turn. In 1924, the two founders of SKF, Essar Gabrielsen and Gustav Larsen, changed the fate of the company. Gabrielsen, who was a sales manager, and Larsen, who was an engineer, decided to build a Swedish car that would be suitable for the country’s hilly roads and cold climate. Therefore, in August 1926, two years later, AB Volvo started its activity. Almost a year passed and during this period, the initial versions were made and necessary measures were taken to produce a national car. Therefore, all the necessary arrangements for car production in SKF Group were arranged. Although the Volvo group considers the origin of this company to be the day the first Volvo car left the factory and entered the market, that is, 1927. In that year, 280 cars were built. After the unveiling of the first truck in 1928, this brand gained international fame and attracted all the attention. After two years of life, this company went from one side to the other, because it managed to sell 639 Volvo cars. and exporting its trucks to Europe. This success was a huge dream for a relatively new national brand, although this company, like other companies of its time, was not spared from the sting of World War II. .
It was in 1935 that SKF decided to sell the car shares of the company. Because it was introduced in Stockholm Stock Exchange. PENTAVERKEN, which produced engines for this company, was bought by the factory in the same year. Until seven years later, this popular brand managed to acquire SVENSKA FLYGMOTOR engineering company and then changed its name to VOLVO AERO. Meanwhile, Volvo tried to become bigger every day. It introduced its first bus called B1 in 1934. As mentioned in the introduction, the activities of this brand were not limited to automobile manufacturing and are not. Therefore, in the early 40s, the manufacture of aircraft engines was added to the wide range of factory products. These successive successes every day helped the globalization of this automobile giant and paved the way for a bright future. It was in 1963 that this brand became officially international and built its first factory in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. In 1973, the name of this factory was changed to Volvo BM. After some time, this factory was sold to VALMET and all that was left of it later became VLVO CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT.
What was the first Volvo model and in what year was it presented?
The first car manufactured by this brand was called Volvo OV4, which left the factory on April 14, 1927 and entered the market. Also, the first truck of this company, called SERIES 1, was unveiled in 1928. PV 645 model was launched in 1933. The model that helped to increase the capital of this company and was known as the first luxury car of this company.
Cooperation between Volvo and Renault
The desire to expand the business of this brand reached the point where it decided to partner with another competing and national brand called SAAB_SCANIA, but this company did not accept. This cooperation reached other countries and in the 70s Renault and Volvo factories decided to cooperate. Now it was time to divide the factory into smaller and relatively more independent parts, which resulted in the creation of VOLVO CAR CORPORATION. After a few years, the cooperation between these two brands deepened and they partnered with each other in the buying and selling department. Both were helping each other. The Volvo company provided its technology to Renault, in return, it received help from this French colleague in various departments.
They also cooperated in research and quality control. This cooperation was canceled after some time due to reasons in 1994 and Volvo sold a small share of Renault in 1997.
Volvo after Renault
After stopping cooperation with Renault, Volvo Group was sold to Ford Motor Company. This happened in 1999. Therefore, the brand was placed next to companies such as Jaguar, Land Rover and Austin Martin.
So far, many Volvo parts and technologies have been used in the products of these three prestigious brands. The share of this company, which was increasing every day from the automobile industry, reached 5% of Mitsubishi’s shares in the same year. But after Mitsubishi was bought by DaimlerChrysler, Volvo sold its share.
Today, Volvo carries out many research projects with many colleges and universities around the world. This company, like other brands, is moving towards electrifying its products and supporting the environment.
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