Volvo history. The Chinese bought Volvo Which country produces Volvo cars

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Volvo is a Swedish car brand that produces sedans, station wagons, sports cars, coupes, and trucks. Volvo Car Corporation is headquartered in Gothenburg. It is part of the Geely Automobile holding.

When creating cars, brand engineers are especially careful about the issue of safety. They have developed the most innovative technologies in the field of passive and active safety compared to other brands.

At its inception, the company was part of the world's largest manufacturer of bearings, lubrication systems, seals and mechatronics SKF. The word "Volvo" was the company's slogan. Translated from Latin, it means "torsion".

Volvo was founded in 1927 in Gothenburg as a subsidiary of SKF. Assar Gabrielsson became its Managing Director and Gustav Larson became its Chief Engineer. They immediately announced that safety for all road users will be the main principle in the creation of Volvo cars.

The first Volvo car left the assembly line on April 14, 1927. It was a model ÖV 4, nicknamed "Jacob". The main chassis components were developed by Ian G. Smith, who worked for many years in the American automotive industry and borrowed many technical solutions from American cars.

Gustav Larson worked on the creation of a four-cylinder in-line 2-liter engine with side valves. The power unit developed 28 hp. at 2000 rpm The maximum speed of the model was 90 km / h. The open body with five passenger seats was made of sheet steel and placed on a frame of ash and birch. In the harsh climate of Sweden, the open version of the model was not successful. But the PV4 sedan was much more convenient and popular. Its body was a wooden frame, sheathed not with sheet steel, but with artificial leather. By unfolding the seats, it was possible to get two comfortable beds.

Volvo ÖV 4 (1927-1929)

In 1928, an elongated version of the PV4, the Special, was introduced, which featured a longer hood, flattened dash line, narrower windshield pillars, and a rectangular rear window. In the same year, the first Volvo truck, the Type 1, was released.

Since its inception, the company has hatched plans for a six-cylinder engine. In April 1929, the first model with a new engine, the PV651, was introduced. Under its hood was a 3-liter power unit 55 hp The PV651 and its successor PV652 were wider and longer than the previous cars.

Models with a six-cylinder engine helped the company enter the taxi market, where it aspired to get into. Only in the first year of sales, 1,383 copies were sold, and 27 of them were exported.

Taxi companies really liked reliable and safe cars. Demand spurred Volvo engineers to develop the seven-seat TR671 and TR672 models, which received an extended chassis. In 1935, they were replaced by the TR701-704 with a 3670 cc engine. cm and a power of 80-84 hp.

In 1933, the new PV653 (Standard) and PV654 (De Luxe) entered the market. They received an all-metal body, 17-inch wheels instead of 19-inch, an updated dashboard with a glove box. The cars differed from their predecessors in improved sound insulation: the engine was separated from the chassis by rubber cushions, and the wall between the passenger compartment and the engine compartment was covered with noise-absorbing material.

Volvo PV653 (1933-1937)

Then came the 654 De luxe with a plush interior, two spare wheels and a taillight. reversing. In 1935, the PV658 and PV659 models came out, which had a significant impact on the appearance of all cars produced after them. Their radiator had a slightly tilted back position, and the wheel hub caps acquired an unusual shape. All wheels were hydraulically operated brakes.

In 1935, a new model appeared with a streamlined design similar to American cars. It was a Volvo PV36 Carioca, a comfortable, quiet sedan with independent wishbone front suspension, a strong steel body and a high safety record. Six people could fit in the cabin: three in front and three in the back. The seats were spacious and comfortable. In total, 500 copies of the model were produced, plus one chassis, which Nordbergs Karosseri turned into a luxury convertible.

Volvo PV36 (1935-1938)

In 1936, the first generation of small Volvo models appeared - the PV51 car. It was equipped with the same 86 hp 3.6-liter engine as the PV36 Carioca, but was simpler, more affordable and more popular. The model was distinguished by a narrow body with an undivided windshield, the presence of only one wiper and a modest interior trim.

In the spring of 1939, the company began developing mechanisms to switch to gas produced from coal. These developments were more than ever useful, since there was a shortage of gasoline in Europe. After the outbreak of hostilities, the production of civilian vehicles froze. The company switched to the manufacture of special military vehicles and gas-powered devices.

The first post-war car was the PV60. It was also remembered by fans of the brand as the last car from the generation of huge passenger Volvos with a six-cylinder engine. Her appearance was already old-fashioned, but the PV60 still sold well. Say what you like, but it was the last representative of the "old school", very reliable and comfortable.

In 1944, the PV444 was introduced - a car that became a milestone for the brand. It was the first Volvo model to feature compact dimensions and a new design that followed the current trends shown by American automakers. The car received a one-piece steel monocoque body without a frame and a new four-cylinder engine with a short flywheel and an overhead camshaft. He developed a power of 40 hp. First installed on a car Windshield from triplex. Another significant advantage of the new model is low price, which amounted to 4,800 SEK. For this amount, the company's first car was sold in 1927.

The PV444 made its debut at the Volvo show in Stockholm, where 2,300 purchase contracts were signed in 10 days. This is despite the fact that the company's plans included the production of only 8,000 copies of the model. In total, during the production of the car, about 200,000 units were sold.

Volvo PV444 (1946-1958)

In 1954, Volvo made a real sensation in the automotive world. It was the open, sporty two-seater Sport P 1900. Nobody expected this from a conservative and safety-obsessed automaker. The model was developed with an eye on export markets, as the company already had a negative experience selling convertibles to the Swedish public. However, this time the car sold successfully. Still would! In addition to the dashing appearance and thoughtful security system, she boasted a five-year warranty, providing for the obligations of the car company to pay for repairs more than 200 crowns. The insured event included an accident or an accident on the road. Under the hood of the Sport P 1900 was a 1414 cc inline-four engine. cm power 70 hp

In August 1966, Volvo introduced the 144, which until 1974 was the most massive in the history of the company. This car was distinguished by a large glass area and a successful exterior design. In addition, he received a lot of innovation from Volvo in the field of safety. This list included energy-absorbing zones at the front and rear of the body, a unique brake system, disc brakes on all wheels, a smooth interior without protruding parts and seat belts for the driver and front passenger.

In 1974, the manufacturer introduced a new generation of cars - the 240 and 260 series, created on the basis of the 140 series. They were distinguished from their predecessors by a different front end, an upgraded chassis with MacPherson front wheel suspension, larger engines and new four-cylinder engines.

Volvo 240 (1974-1984)

In the mid-70s, Volvo bought the Dutch DAF Car BV, which allowed it to settle into the small car segment. The first novelty of this series was the Volvo 66, which was produced in the back of a two-door sedan or three-door station wagon. It was equipped with stepless automatic transmission gears and rear wheel drive system.

In 1986, the Volvo 480ES rolled off the assembly line, the brand's first serial front-wheel drive model. She received a design with retractable headlights that was not similar to the previous work of the company.

In 1991, the company introduced the SIPS side impact protection system, and in 1994, it created the world's first airbags that protect against side impact.

In 1999, Ford Motor Company bought the passenger car division for $6.45 billion. The following year, Volvo Trucks and Renault entered into an agreement to create a single vehicle manufacturing business, becoming Europe's largest truck manufacturer. In 2010, Ford sold Volvo Cars to the Indian company Geely Automobile.

The acquaintance of Russian buyers with Volvo took place even under the USSR, when since 1973 truck tractors of the brand were purchased for the needs of Sovtransavto. In 1989, official sales of cars and trucks in Soviet Union. Now the brand is represented on the Russian market by three companies: VFS Vostok LLC, Volvo Vostok CJSC, responsible for the sale of trucks, and Volvo Cars LLC, which promotes passenger cars. Since 2009, Volvo FH, FM, FMX trucks have been assembled in Kaluga. Investments in the construction of a new plant cost 100 million euros. In 2014, the Volvo Group set up full-cycle cab production at the plant, investing another 90 million euros.

Despite the division and different ownership, the Volvo brand continues its glorious development as a manufacturer of quality and safe cars with a balanced character. The companies plan to expand production and further improve cars.

Volvo Cars has begun production of its best-selling XC60 at Volvo's Chengdu plant in China. The expansion of production in China was made possible by the continuous growth of sales.

The Volvo XC60 is the second model to be produced in China. Production of the first model in China, the long-wheelbase Volvo S60L sedan, began in November 2013.

The expansion of production in connection with the start of assembly of the XC60 at the Chengdu plant means the creation of an additional 500 jobs, bringing the total workforce to about 2,650 people. The new working time calculation system will allow reaching the required production volume.

The XC60 is Volvo's bestseller worldwide and in China.

In the first nine months of 2014, global XC60 sales increased by 20.4 percent to 98,309 vehicles. During the same period, sales in China increased by 32.3 percent with 24,940 vehicles sold. Earlier this year, cumulative production of the XC60, which hit the market in 2008, was 500,000 vehicles.

"Beginning of productionXC60 in Chengdu is one of the last milestones on the path of transformationVolvo Cars, - said Håkan Samuelsson (Hå kanSamuelsson), president and CEOVolvoCars. – This is very important to support overall growth.Volvoin the market, which is today the largest forVolvo".

The Chengdu factory is located in the economic and technological development zone in central China. The plant can produce 120,000 vehicles per year.

Volvo Cars also has a factory in northeast China's Daqing city where assembly of the Volvo XC Classic, a localized variant of the first generation Volvo XC90 designed specifically for the Chinese market, has begun.

In addition, a Volvo Cars engine plant has been operating since autumn 2013 in the city of Zhangjiakou, northwest of Beijing, and supplies its products to assembly plants in Chengdu and Daqing.

All the company's activities in China are carried out in full compliance with the global standards and processes of Volvo Cars, which operate at the Thorsland and Ghent plants in Europe.

"The factory in Chengdu is absolutely the same as our factories in Europe,- told Lars Danielson (LarsDanielson), Senior Vice PresidentVolvoCarsChinaOperationsand CEOVolvocarChina. – By quality level, technologies and equipment used, working conditions, safety and protection standards environment Our factory in Chengdu fully complies with global standards and requirementsVolvo Cars".

This year, Volvo Cars is showing strong sales in China, with retail sales up 36 percent compared to 2013. Volvo Cars is well ahead of competitors in the premium segment in China, rapidly increasing its market share.

In addition to the XC60 and S60L, the V60 and V40 segment leaders show excellent sales figures in the Chinese market. Volvo cars are currently sold in more than 160 dealer centers throughout China.

"Chinese consumers have no lower expectations than Europeans. They expect top quality products,- speaks Mr Danielson. – Buyers have a huge choice in the highly competitive Chinese market, so we guarantee high quality carsVolvoproduced at our Chengdu plant, which are no different from the vehicles produced by our plants in Europe."

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Volvo Car Group V 2013

In fiscal year 2013 operating incomeVolvo Car Groupamounted to 1.919 million SEK (66 million SEK in 2012). The annual income for the said period amounted to 122.245 million S.K. (124 . 547 ), while net profit reached the level960 million s.c. (-542 million s.c.). Retail sales around the world in a year reached427 . 840 (421 . 951) vehicles is an increase of 1.4 percent compared to 2012. We managed to increase profit from the main activity due to cost reduction and the implementation of strong sales, which indicates the successful implementation of the transformation planVolvo Car Group. According to the company's forecasts, financial results for 2014 will be positive, and sales will show another record and increase by 5 percent.

ABOUT Volvo Car Group

CompanyVolvo exists since 1927. TodayVolvois one of the most famous and respected automotive brands in the world.Volvo Carssells its vehicles in approximately 100 countries, sales in 2013 amounted to 427,000 vehicles. Since 2010Volvo Cars owned by a Chinese companyZhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding). Volvo Carsbelonged to the group of companiesSwedish Volvo Group (Sweden), and in 1999 it was acquired by an American companyFord Motor Company. In 2010Volvo Carsthe company boughtGeely holding.

As of December 2013 inVolvo Carsemployed more than 23,000 people worldwide. head officeVolvo Cars, product development, marketing and administrative functions are concentrated in Gothenburg (Sweden). head officeVolvo Carsin China is located in Shanghai (China). Main manufacturing enterprises The companies are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium) and Chengdu (China). Engines for carsVolvoproduced at the plant in Skövde (Sweden) andZhangjiakou(China).

Volvo Personvagnar AB (Volvo Cars) was sold in 2010 - the Ford concern transferred 100% of the shares of its former division to the holding Zhejiang Geely Holding Group from China, which already has one global automaker - Geely Auto.

The main production facilities of Volvo Cars are currently located on the territory of the European Union - factories in Torsland, Uddevalle and Ghent. The company plans to open several factories in China to meet the needs of a dynamically developing domestic market.

Volvo cars are not assembled in the Netherlands. By the end of 2012, Mitsubishi Motors, owner of the plant since 2001, was about to close the plant or sell it for a nominal fee if certain conditions were met. Once the following models rolled off the assembly line of the plant: 440, 460, S40 b V40.

Volvo cars - S40 and S80L were produced at the Changan Ford plant in Chongqing, China.

Volvo Cars sold about 422,000 vehicles in 2012. The largest sales market for Volvo cars is the North American market. So, in the US market in 2012, 68,079 cars were sold. Contrary to the company's expectations, the Chinese market did not grow, and under the onslaught of competitors who deployed their production in China, there was a decline in sales. The opening of a plant in China, the reduction in the cost of cars due to the absence of customs duties, will significantly increase sales. Today, the duty is up to 25% of the value of the car.

Which factory assembles the most Volvo cars?

The company's plant in the Belgian city of Ghent assembled about 265 thousand cars in 2011, and about 258 thousand cars in 2012. Significant for the plant is the production of small cars, it is with them that the growth in production is associated.

Volvo production in Russia.

Back in 2002, the first production of trucks of this brand was launched in Zelenograd. In connection with the company's plans to open a modern high-capacity plant in Russia, production in Moscow was closed in 2008. In January 2009, a Volvo Group plant was opened in Kaluga with a design capacity of 15,000 vehicles per year. Main products trucks Volvo model range: FH, FM and FMX.

Russian Volvo sales this year, as with other auto brands, it still leaves much to be desired: after the collapse of the market, there are significantly fewer buyers in car dealerships. Sales of the new flagship model XC90, which were supposed to start in March, were eventually postponed and will start only now (the exact dates are still unknown). Along with a significant reduction in prices for the lineup, announced at the end of April, this should improve the company's business in Russia. At the same time, despite local problems, Volvo, having passed into Chinese hands, has been demonstrating more than decent results in recent years, having managed to retain old customers and attract new ones.

In 2010, the Chinese did not just acquire the first European brand that came to hand. They bought a company best known for security technology. It was with this that Chinese auto companies had (and still remain) serious problems from the very beginning: many cars were absolutely uncompetitive in terms of European or American standards.

Five years ago the world economic crisis forced the American concern to get rid of unnecessary assets, one of which was the passenger division of Volvo.

The Swedish manufacturer was making losses, and Ford did not want to invest in the company during the crisis. As a result, the Americans sold Volvo to the Chinese auto giant Geely for $1.8 billion. At the same time, in 1999, Volvo cost the Americans 3.5 times more — $6.5 billion.

When Volvo was taken over by the Chinese, many auto experts and fans of the brand seriously expressed fear that Volvo would lose its image and that the Chinese, taking advantage of Swedish technology, would not invest heavily in it.

But new owner Volvo hastened to assure that the brand will be granted independence in a strategic perspective and the opportunity to work on its own business plan.

“Cooperation with the Swedish brand is, first of all, safety technologies. Volvo has a very strong position in this aspect of the automotive industry, said Geely CEO Li Shufu at the end of April. “In addition, we are now focusing on research and development work on the creation of a new modular CMA platform (for the production of C-class cars). The C-Class sedan will go into production in 2017 and will be the first car on the new CMA small-size platform shared by Geely and Volvo. The successor to the Volvo V40 will get the same platform.”

“Based on this modular architecture, Volvo develops some products, and Geely develops others, its own,

Shufu says. “They have different directions and completely different characteristics, corresponding to positioning in their segments.”

However, here it is worth recognizing that Volvo did not initially count on such a format of cooperation. Shortly after the deal, Volvo's then CEO made it clear that no technical collaboration with Geely was out of the question.

“We understand ourselves as part of a financial, not an industrial holding, so we maintain independence, which is very important to us. Geely and I work in completely different areas of the automotive industry, which makes cooperation on a wide range of issues almost pointless, ”he said.

Well, a few years later the situation has changed, and it is not difficult to guess that the Chinese still managed to impose their vision of mutual cooperation on the Swedes.

For the star-struck Geely, the Volvo purchase opened up access to unique safety technologies and other developments. But at the same time, the deal allowed Geely to become the first Chinese automobile company, deployed not only in the market of Europe and the USA, but also in developing countries, becoming a global brand.

At least such plans are declared by Li Shufu, who is called the "Chinese Henry Ford." In the near future, Geely plans to start exporting Swedish brand cars from factories in China to other countries. Among the export destinations, in addition to the United States, experts also name Russia. Shipments will be made from a factory in Chengdu in southwest China.

The Swedish company also does not hide the fact that it is quite satisfied with the cooperation. The main criterion is the growing volume of world sales.

According to Lars Danielson, head of Volvo China, 2014 was one of the best years for Volvo Cars. “More than 466,000 vehicles have been sold, all models,” Larson said. —

Business was also going well in Western Europe, which is also an important market for us. 56 thousand cars were sold in the USA. Overall sales were good, with our profits up 17% to $2.2 million.

However, the margin is still low.

Here you need to keep in mind the context. We invest a lot, invest in new products. It would be much easier to do what the whole industry does, and the profits would be different. But the plan is what it is."

The Chinese market for Volvo today is the largest - its share reached 17% of global sales last year. Sweden is in second place, the United States is third with 12%. Next come the UK (about 9%) and other European countries - 7%.

“I don’t think that Volvo, having become the property of Geele, could lose something,” says the general director of Strana radio, a well-known auto expert. — Quite the opposite: the brand has retained all its positions.

Yes, they had big plans to develop the brand in the Chinese market, but so far they have not actually achieved any noticeable results.

However, the fact that the Swedish brand is present in China, Europe and the US is already a good thing. Here we can cite as an example the fate of another Swedish manufacturer - Saab, which simply went bankrupt and ceased to exist.

According to the expert, when both companies announce joint technical developments, they are of a very specific nature.

“For Geely, buying a Volvo was the quickest way to get modern technologies automotive industry. They didn't really have any work of their own. Therefore, speaking about the joint development of the two brands, one must understand that only the Europeans provide the entire technical base, and the Chinese side provides funding. Therefore, it is quite logical that the joint technical center of the two companies is located in Sweden,” he said.

According to Denis Eremenko, General Director of PodborAvto, the perception of the brand by Russian consumers has not changed since the moment it came under the wing of a Chinese company. “If the build quality of cars, the design and positioning of the brand as a whole do not change, then the consumer does not think at all about who owns the brand,” Yeremenko shared his opinion with Gazeta.Ru. “The purchase of Volvo by the Chinese is just such a case, so this circumstance did not affect the demand from Russian buyers.”

The example of Volvo is not the only one. On account of the Chinese - the purchase by Dongfeng Motor Group of a 14% stake in the French concern PSA, which is experiencing difficult times, the acquisition of BAIC from Saab technologies. It is impossible not to recall the failed deal to sell the Hummer brand to the Chinese. In addition, it has recently become known that the Chinese state-owned chemical corporation ChemChina plans to acquire tire brand Pirelli for 7.1 billion euros.

But the same tactics are used not only by the Chinese. Indian has been owning a British Jaguar for several years Land Rover and does everything not to be associated with the legendary premium brand among ordinary buyers.