History
Volvo is a Swedish manufacturer of automobiles which was founded in 1927.
The company had actually been a subsidiary of a Swedish ball bearing manufacturer since 1915, but was officially considered founded when the first car rolled out of the Gothenburg factory in April 1927.
The model was called the Volvo OV 4 Series, and was known by many as the Jakob.
The company went on to produce 280 cars that year.
The following year Volvo manufactured their first truck, the Series 1, which saw immediate success and gained attention overseas as well. Following this success the company began exporting the trucks to other European countries from the early 1930s.
The company also began manufacturing marine engines, and launched the first bus in 1934.
Volvo’s first plant outside Sweden was opened in 1963; it was called the Volvo Halifax Assembly Plant, in Canada.
The company was sold in 1999 to Ford Motor Company. It was sold for $6.45 billion.
From then onwards Volvo was focused on producing commercial vehicles, and has seen rapid growth because of it.