Volvo

From "guinea pig" to global brand

Since 1927, the brand of the Swedish car manufacturer Volvo from Gothenburg has stood for safety on the road. The manufacturer has been able to maintain this reputation for years thanks to continuous innovations. As a result, many technical achievements such as the first three-point safety belt and the first rear-facing child seat can be traced back to Volvo. Interestingly, Volvo was initially intended to function exclusively as an experimental division. This was because the well-known Swedish ball bearing manufacturer SKF urgently needed some test vehicles to test the rolling bearings that were newly developed and produced at the time. That was in 1915, but SKF's sales manager, Assar Gabrielsson, together with engineer and entrepreneur Gustaf Larson, founded the independent Volvo brand from this purely experimental department in 1927. The brand name Volvo is of Latin origin and refers to the first person singular present tense of the verb "volvere." Volvo thus translates as "I roll." Volvo's logo has caused some confusion in the past, as it has often been equated with the symbol for "male". However, this is a misconception. The circle with the arrow pointing diagonally upwards to the right is also simultaneously a chemical symbol for the element iron. In Sweden, the circle symbolized the iron industry for a long time. Volvo was quick to recall the old traditions of Swedish industry: steel and strength. The company therefore decided to incorporate these traditions as its logo.

A Swedish look at technology, the future and sustainability

Volvo wants to produce the first cars that are both fully electric and self-driving by 2025. At the moment, however, it only has a nice and wide range of traditionally powered and driven models. While the original Volvo Group now primarily produces trucks and buses, Volvo Car Corporation focuses exclusively on passenger car manufacturing, which includes military and off-road vehicles. The model range primarily includes sedans, SUVs and station wagons. The current models all bear either one or two letters and a two-digit number as their designation. The combination of letters generally indicates the body variant: "S" stands for notchback sedan (S40), "V" for "Versatile" (station wagon / V40, V50, V70, V90), "XC" for "Cross Country", i.e. off-road models (XC70, XC90) and "C" for convertible or coupe (C70). The respective number after the letter combination always refers to the class, to which the model belongs.