Swedish Multinational Manufacturing Company Volvo Group
The Volvo Group is an international manufacturing corporation based in Gothenburg. Volvo is a multinational manufacturing company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo produces trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine drive systems. It employed 94,914 people in 2016, and was the second-largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in the world. Despite being often confused with Volvo Cars based also in Gothenburg but independent, both firms are independent since AB Volvo bought Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Company in the year 1999. Geely Holding Group is the owner of Volvo Cars, an automotive multinational company based in China. AB Volvo shares the Volvo brand with Volvo Cars. The two companies also work together on the Volvo Museum. Martin Lundstedt and Carl-Henric Svanberg are the Chairman and President of Volvo Group. Hakan S. Samuelsson and Li Shufu serve as the Chairman and President of Volvo Car.
Volvo was founded as a company in 1915 by SKF, a manufacturer of ball bearings. The Volvo Group and Volvo Cars however, believe that they were officially established in April 1927 with the production of the Volvo OV 4 – nicknamed Jakob – from Hisingen’s factory in Gothenburg. Assar G. Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson were two of the founders of Volvo Cars. They decided to build a Swedish vehicle in 1924. They wanted to make cars that would withstand the harsh roads of Sweden and its cold temperatures. AB Volvo commenced operations on the 10th of August 1926. After a year-long preparation, which included the manufacture of ten prototypes of the new car, the company was ready to begin the manufacturing business in the SKF group. Volvo Group’s own records show that production began in Gothenburg in 1927. In 1927, only 280 cars had been produced. The “Series 1” truck was introduced in January 1928 and became an instant success, attracting attention from outside of the country. Volvo sold 639 cars in 1930. Exports of trucks began soon after. AB Volvo’s shares were sold by SKF after the Stockholm Stock Exchange introduced the company to the public in 1935.
Volvo Car Corporation and Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover, were part of Ford Motor Company’s Premier Automotive Group. The company’s vehicle range grew significantly while it was part of Ford Motor Company’s Premier Automotive Group. In 2008, when the global financial crisis threatened US automobile manufacturers, Swedish officials became worried about Volvo in the event that Ford declared bankruptcy. Concerns grew after Volvo repeated mass layoffs. Ford announced its intention to sell Volvo Cars back in December 2008. Geely Holding Group in China won the bid to purchase Volvo. Geely Group Holdings Co. offered US$1.5billion to acquire Volvo. Goldman Sachs had invested 334m USD into the holding. Volvo’s product range has been refocused since Geely took over. Volvo sold over 500,000 cars in 2015, the first time it has done so in its history of 89 years. In July 2017, the automaker revealed that, starting in 2019, every new model will have an integrated electric motor. Volvo could be the first automaker to stop producing vehicles powered solely by internal combustion engines and switch to hybrid or electric vehicles. Volvo will launch three electric cars in 2019 and two more in 2021 under its Volvo brand, and another under Polestar Performance.
Volvo also supported autonomous vehicles. Uber announced 20 November 2017 its intention to purchase 24,000 Volvos that would be able to use autonomous technology in the years 2019-2021. Uber Advanced Technologies Group will design and manufacture the self-driving systems for the XC90 SUVs as part of this non-binding intention. In 2016, both companies announced their intention to work together on the development and financing of self-driving cars. These vehicles need a new type of steering, braking and sensor system.
