Welcome to travel in time with Volvo Cars. Here you find stories about the events that made Volvo Cars history.
In the beginning of the 1950s, cars had no safety belts. Volvo, however, were among the early pioneers who started working with and later fitting these lifesaving devices.
In 2009, the light delivery vehicle Volvo 445 which brought about the Duett and by that started Volvo's tradition of estate cars turns 60. This is what happened:
The four-cylinder 2 litre engine of the first Volvo series of cars had just about started to rev up when it was replaced with a bigger, smoother and more powerful six-cylinder engine, just like those that many of Volvo's American competitors were beginning to introduce. 2009 marks the 80th anniversary of the DB engine and since 1929, apart from a ten year gap in 1958-1968, Volvo cars have been offered with six-cylinder engines. This is the story behind these cylinders in brief.
When the Volvo Amazon was presented in late summer 1956, most people were convinced that the PV with its already rather old-fashioned styling wasn’t going to survive that much longer. However, the PV with its loyal customer base and healthy sales figures both in Sweden and overseas experienced something of a second wind. On August 25, 1958, Volvo unveiled a thoroughly reworked PV model named the 544.
After more than ten years without a six-cylinder model to offer customers, it was time in August 1968 for Volvo to unveil its 1969 model range which included a new large car for the more prestige- and luxury-oriented segments. The model was called the 164, with the figure “6” in the middle denoting that unlike the cars in the 140 Series, this model featured a six-cylinder engine.
A vehicle reliable and durable enough to offer first class service for many years. Affordable to buy and cheap to run, safe to travel in, easy and practical to use. This sums up some of the requirements that those who serve our society usually look for when scanning the market for suitable transportation. And this they found in the products of a relatively new Swedish company already in 1928.
On the 14th of April, a large door opens at a factory on the island of Hisingen, Gothenburg. Out rolls the first-ever production Volvo. An open tourer with a four-cylinder engine, its model name is ÖV4.
It has been rolling for more than 90 years now, and keeps on rolling; the name VOLVO which first appeared in June 1915 on a ball bearing. The name was officially registered on June 22, 1915 after a slight administrative mishap, and was henceforth stamped on the side of the outer race on SKF's new ball and roller bearings designed for automotive use.
Over 80 years old, it recently made a grand comeback as an updated logotype – the Volvo iron symbol. From a less prominent position in the grille of all Volvo vehicles for many years, the logo has now been brought back into the centre. Literally.
Volvo began making its first purpose-built taxis in March 1930. Apart from a brief gap in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it has been making special taxi models or versions ever since. Few other brands can look back over an equally long and successful career in what is possibly the toughest market segment of all.