WHAT’S IN HIS GARAGE (ONCE IT’S REBUILT)

The Volvo boss describes himself as a keen car person, although he’s far too committed to electrification to fit the ‘petrolhead’ description.

“I wouldn’t describe myself as a car fanatic,” Håkan Samuelsson says. “But I’ve always been very interested in cars from the engineering point of view [he has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering] and I’ve always been fascinated to see how things develop.

“I own two really nice cars and I’m currently having a new garage built to accommodate them better. One is a Volvo P1800, the most stylish Volvo ever built. We’ll use that for summer trips and fun. The other is a new Polestar 1, a car I’m very proud of.”

Samuelsson notes that the P1800 was the car used in the 1960s British TV detective series The Saint by its hero, Simon Templar. Of the Polestar 1, Samuelsson says: “I’m sure that if Simon Templar was still around, he’d be keen to have one.”