Volvo

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About Volvo

Volvo is a Swedish manufacturing company that specializes in the sale and manufacture of cars. The company’s headquarters is in Gothenburg, and ownership is currently in the hands of the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in China.

Early History

Volvo was established in 1927 in Gothenburg, Sweden and was a part of the SKF, a ball bearing company. After the introduction of Volvo AB in the stock exchange eight years later, SKF sold its shares, and from that time until 1999 the company was owned by Volvo Cars. In 1999, Volvo was bought by the Ford Motor Company, and in 2010 the Geely Holding Group purchased Volvo.

The first Volvo car came out in April 14, 1927 and was named the Volvo OV 4. After its successful release, the company manufactured other vehicles that were suited for Swedish driving conditions, but eventually they began to diversify and manufactured other cars.

Current Status of the Company

Volvo currently manufactures and sells coupes, compact executive sedans, sedans, station wagons and sports utility vehicles. There are currently more than 2,300 local dealers in over 100 sales companies around the world, with the company’s largest markets being the United States, the UK, Germany, Belgium, China and Sweden. Sales of Volvo cars continue to increase, and in 2011 the company reported a 20.3% rise, with sales reaching 449,255 cars.

Back in August 2010, former CEO of Volkswagen of America Stefan Jacoby was named Volvo Car Corporation’s Chief Executive and President, taking the place of Stephen Odell who would go on to be Ford Europe chief Executive, while Li Shufu was named the Volvo Chairman of the Board.

Innovations

The name Volvo has always been associated with innovation, and from its early days has become known for putting premium on durability and safety. As testament to this, Volvo scored high marks in EuroNCAP tests, with five models receiving five star ratings: the V70, XC60, V60 Plug-In Hybrid, V60, V40 and Volvo C30.

While the company is already known for safety, they continue to implement new features that make their cars even more so. One of the most noteworthy is Cyclist Detection with Auto Brake, a warning system that informs the driver if a cyclist is up ahead. Once detected, the car will automatically stop. In addition, Volvo cars also have a Road Sign Information system, which reads road signs and displays them so the driver can see it clearly.