HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VOLVO!

Swedish carmaker Volvo turns 90. We take a look at highlights from the company’s innovative past ... and its bright future

In 1924, Gustaf Larson and his friend Assar Gabrielsson met over freshly caught cray sh at the Sturehof restaurant in Stockholm. Their discussion soon turned to cars. At the time, about 15 000 passenger vehicles were being imported into Sweden, and the two wondered if Sweden could produce its own car. One that would be tough enough for Swedish roads…

Ninety years later, and the rest is history. Now sold in more than 100 countries, Volvo is Sweden’s proudest export.

1927 JAKOB IS BORN

A month after that meal at Sturehof, work on the rst Swedish car began and, on 14 April 1927, a Volvo drove o the factory oor in Gothenburg. The ÖV4, a ectionately known as Jakob, was an open tourer and the very rst Volvo.

Volvo Car Group is today a global company that has conceptualised and implemented world-changing innovations, most notably in the elds of safety and technology, and is known for its premium range of cars.

1944 IN WALKS A LITTLE VOLVO

What truly turned Volvo into a global car company was the PV444. The little Volvo o ered accessible post-war mobility to the masses, and within just two weeks of its introduction, 2 300 orders had been placed. The PV444 set in motion Volvo’s enviable heritage of producing class-leading sedans, including the brand-new S90. The PV444’S successor, the PV544, was the rst production Volvo to come standard with seatbelts.

1953 LET’S DUETT

Touted as “two cars in one”, the Volvo Duett was the rst in a long line of estates produced by the company. The brand has become synonymous with this type of practical car, and that’s best encapsulated by the sumptuous but spacious V90 Cross Country that is set to hit South African shores later this year. Globally, Volvo has sold more than six million estates since 1953.

1959 VOLVO BUCKLES UP

Volvo is perhaps best associated with industry-leading safety features and innovations. In fact, according to Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars, the company’s vision is that, “By 2020, no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo.”

This selfless pursuit of safety is best personified by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin, who invented the revolutionary three-point safety belt that first appeared in 1959’s PV544. Volvo waived its patent rights to this innovation and that allowed for its application in all brands of vehicles all over the world.

In 1966, the 140 took it a step further by introducing disc brakes all-round, a collapsible steering column, crumple zones and the rear-facing child seat (in 1967).

1976 PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

In 1976, the company introduced the Lambda sensor, an oxygensensing probe that reduces exhaust emissions by 90%. According to the California Air Resources Board, this invention is the most significant breakthrough ever made in the control of exhaust emissions. Again, Volvo waived its patent rights and just about every petrol-engined car on the road now employs this tech.

Volvo has continued its focus on environmental protection by developing electrified vehicles (such as the current Volvo XC90’S T8 Twin Engine) and aims to have put one million electrified Volvos on the road globally by 2025.

2002 DRIVE GOES OFF-ROAD

The first XC90 was not only Volvo’s debut SUV, but managed to set numerous benchmarks within its segment, and has become an unrivalled success. In fact, within a few years, it became the singlemost important export product in Sweden. It solidified the company’s reputation for producing class-leading premium vehicles.

As the first vehicle to be launched since the company’s “New Dawn” , the award-winning new XC90, launched in 2015, has managed to build on its predecessor’s pedigree and has set new standards in comfort, premium luxury, capability and responsibility. It is the custodian of the Volvo brand’s future and paves the way for a new wave of technological innovation.