NO LONGER BORING BUT STILL SAFE: VOLVO TURNS 80
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Michael Rose,
Friday, April 13 2007
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Volvo vehicles have been driving on roads around the world for 80 years. On April 14, 1927, the very first production run of Volvos came out of the Gothenberg, Sweden factory. More than 15 million have been produced since that first one hit the road. Volvo initially earned a loyal following because of their obsession with safety, durability (its logo is the Swedish symbol for iron) and for its conservative Scandinavian design.
Have a look below for a ten-step review of Volvo’s history.
1927
On 14 April, a factory gate opens on the island of Hisingen in Göteborg and out rolls the very first series-produced Volvo car. Its model name is ÖV4, the Swedish abbreviation for Open Car, 4 cylinders. Its price is set at 4800 kronor and the covered version, which is launched soon after under the PV4 model name, costs an additional 1000 kronor. The goal is to build 500 cars in each series, but the public isn’t won over and just 297 cars are sold that first year. At the helm of the young company - and staying on until the mid-fifties - are the company's two founders Assar Gabrielsson, President, and Gustaf Larson, director of engineering.
1937
During the previous year, a rather simple model which can be seen as Volvo's first attempt at a large-volume seller was launched. Known as the PV51, it is admittedly not as exciting as the streamlined PV36 Carioca they’d tried but the company wants a commercial success. The new model shares much of the same character and has a similar six-cylinder engine. The PV51 sells in far greater numbers. At the start of 1937 a second model is released, the PV52, which is better equipped than the PV51 but otherwise nearly identical. During the year, 1815 Volvo cars are made. The manufacture of trucks and buses is still the company's mainstay.
1947
It wasn’t easy revving up production after six years of War. First there was a long strike in Sweden's engineering industry. This combined with general start-up problems caused in part by a shortage of raw materials kept the new PV444 from getting under way until February. This was Volvo's first small car with a monocoque body and overhead valve engine. Volvo already had orders for 10,181 cars of the planned production run of 12,000. The first 2300 cars had to be sold at a loss for 4800 kronor each, the price at which the car was advertised when the prototype was shown in 1944. In 1947, the price of a new PV444 is now 8000 kronor. Volvo has grown into a major corporation with 3000 employees and a turnover of 112 million kronor. Production this year totals 2531 cars.
1957
In the autumn of the previous year, the new Volvo Amazon had been unveiled and at the start of 1957, production got under way. The new model costs 12,600 kronor. During the year, anchors for front two-point seat belts are installed as standard in all Volvo passenger cars. The last Volvo Sport model rolls off the production line - bringing the production run to a grand total of just 67 cars - and 1957 is also the last model year for the PV444. Volvo has by now been selling in North America for two years and already has more than 100 dealers on the American continent. Exports to North America and many other markets are growing. Factory output that year totaled 42,192 cars built by 13,000 employees.
1967
This is the first model year for the new Volvo 144 which was unveiled in August the previous year. With this model, list price 19,300 kronor, safety takes a giant leap forward. The car has disc brakes both front and rear, a collapsible steering column and a new type of fastener for three-point seat belts. The body features energy-absorbing front and rear structures and the brakes have a unique triangular twin-circuit system. Volvo also presents the world's first rearward-facing child seat this year, and seat belts are also introduced in the rear seats of Volvo cars. Later this year, the 145 station wagon is introduced. Volvo models with twin carburetors are built for export to the USA featuring an exhaust gas filtration system. Annual production totals 148,742 cars.
1977
Volvo turns 50 and celebrates the event with a special version of the 240 Series, which has replaced the 140 Series. The Volvo 262 Coupe is rolled out later in the year, a highly exclusive model designed and built by renowned Italian car designers Carrozzeria Bertone. Volvo displays its first environmentally focused vehicle, a small two-seat electric car. Only two were built. The environment is a high-priority area for Volvo which is selling cars in California with a world innovation - a three-way catalytic converter. This is the last year that car operations are a division of AB Volvo. The following year, a decision is taken to create an independent but wholly owned subsidiary, the Volvo Car Corporation. That year, 225,700 Volvo cars are made.
1987
Over the past two decades, the proportion of station wagons has grown steadily and Volvo is by now the dominant manufacturer of these cars in its size class, with an annual volume of about 120,000 cars. Volvo has started fitting engines with catalytic converters in several European countries. The 760 model, the most exclusive variant in the 700 Series, gets a facelift and technical upgrade that includes a new Multilink independent rear suspension system. Volvo turns 60 and celebrates with a car cavalcade through the streets of the company's home-town, Göteborg. This year sets a new production record, 423,800 cars.
1997
For the first time in more than 40 years, an open-top Volvo model is produced, the C70 Convertible. It's the first drop-top Volvo since the Volvo Sport of the 1950s. Another new model is the four-wheel drive V70 XC. Four-wheel drive was introduced in Volvo cars the year before and the V70 XC is launched as a tough and sporty car with higher ground clearance and advanced all-wheel drive. The XC concept turns out to be a real winner for Volvo Cars and sees ever-larger sales in later generations. The rear-wheel drive Volvos - of which there are three models - are now in their last generation, and they disappear entirely from the product range the following year. Within another two years the company will be acquired by Ford Motor Company. Volvo builds 387,400 cars that year.
2007
The jubilee year opens in Detroit at the North American International Car Show, with the unveiling of the new XC60 concept car. The XC60 Concept is one of the new so-called crossover models that are gaining popularity worldwide. Its unusual lines display an attitude that says Volvo is no longer content to be stodgy but safe. Other new Volvo’s releases during 2007 are the V70 and XC70, shown at the Geneva Motor Show.
Volvo has come a long way since the evening of July 25, 1924 when Assar Gabrielson and Gustaf Larson decided to launch the company. "Today, we build as many Volvo cars in three hours as we did during the entire year in 1927. We've racked up almost 15 million cars since we started operations that April day all those decades ago,” says Fredrik Arp, President and CEO, Volvo Car Corporation.
While it’s grown and changed the founders would be happy to learn that their desire to build safe, high-quality vehicles was never lost. Volvo is headed for a future that is guided by the principles of its past.
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