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The Volvo Group is a Swedish supplier of commercial transport solutions providing products such as trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and financial services. The then auto manufacturer was founded on April 14, 1927 in the city of Gothenburg, as a spin-off from the roller ball bearing maker SKF. Volvo delisted from NASDAQ in June, 2007, but remains listed on the Stockholm exchange.

Volvo means "I roll" in Latin, conjugated from "volvere". The name Volvo was originally registered in May 1911 as a separate company within SKF AB and as a registered trademark with the intention to be used for a special series of ball bearing, but this idea was only used for a short period of time and SKF decided to use "SKF" as the trademark for all its bearing products.

The company AB Volvo had no activities until 10 August, 1926 when the SKF Sales Manager Assar Gabrielsson and Engineer Gustav Larson, after one year of preparations involving the production of ten prototypes, set up the car-manufacturing business Volvo AB within SKF group. Volvo AB was introduced at the Stockholm stock exchange in 1935 and SKF then decided to sell its shares in the company.

The first series produced Volvo automobile, the Volvo ÖV 4, left the factory on 14 April, 1927 which became the official date for the founding of Volvo.

In 1998 Volvo sold its car division to Ford. Repeated reports in the media about Ford selling off its Volvo brand have been refuted by the company.

Volvo C30

The Volvo C30 is a compact car produced by the Volvo division of Ford's Premier Automotive Group. The C30 is a three-door, four-seat hatchback powered by I4 and I5 engines. Despite the name, the car is the hatchback / coupe version of the S40/V50/C70 luxury vehicle range and therefore uses the same Volvo P1 platform as its siblings.

The production car was officially unveiled at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. In mid-2006, the C30 was approved for production launch in late 2006 in Europe. The C30 went on sale in Canada in March 2007 as a 2007 model, and in October 2007 in the United States as a 2008 model, with the T5 as the single version. It is being marketed as a premium hatchback specially designed for first-time Volvo buyers and the youth market. Production is expected to be 65,000 units a year, 75% for sale in the European market.

Volvo S40

The Volvo S40, V40 and V50 are entry-level luxury cars / compact executive cars produced by Volvo Cars. There have been two generations, the first launched in 1995 and the second one in 2004. The last one is listed by Forbes as one of the best luxury cars for young affluent drivers. It is also the most popular car among women in the luxury segment in the US market according to J.D. Power and Associates.



Volvo V50

The Volvo V50 is the station wagon / estate version of the Volvo S40 small family car, produced by the Swedish automaker Volvo Cars, it was introduced in 2003 Bologna Motor Show.

It is based on the Volvo P1 platform. Volvo Cars Special Vehicle also produced a concept car based on the V50, the V50 SV, whose engine produces 340 hp (179 kW), and debuted at the 2004 Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Highlights of the V50's interior design include soft "theatre" lighting of various sections, and a translucent "iced aqua" center stack. In safety, the V50 features "Volvo Intelligent Vehicle Architecture".

The top-of-the line V50 is the T5 AWD. This model features four-wheel drive and a straight-5 2.5-litre petrol engine with a light-pressure turbocharger. Its valvetrain has four valves per cylinder and is a DOHC design with variable camshaft timing. The engine provides 220 bhp (164 kW) and 320 N·m (236 ft·lbf) of torque. In Europe the 2.4 Liter turbocharged D5 diesel engine which provides 180 bhp (134 kW) and 350 N·m (258 ft·lbf) of torque is also available. The output of that motor was downgraded from the original diesel motor in the XC90 which produces 185 bhp (138 kW) and 400 N·m (295 ft·lbf) of torque.

The next generation V50 will grow in size to be aligned on the side of the next generation S60 as Volvo Car Corp has recently confirmed. Volvo will not reintroduce the S40 after this model generation and the V50 will become the estate variant for the S60, same as the V70 did become the estate for the S80.

Volvo S60

The Volvo S60 is a compact executive/entry-level luxury car produced by the Swedish automaker Volvo since 2001. An all-new S60 is expected for the 2010 model year.



Volvo V70

The Volvo V70 is a luxury wagon produced by Swedish automaker Volvo Cars since 1996. The V70 is a five-door station wagon closely related to the S70, S60 and S80 saloons. Stylized four-wheel drive versions of the V70 have been sold as the Cross Country (XC) trim line and as the XC70 model. Over 80% of V70s are sold in Europe, one third in Sweden. The Volvo V70 has been the best selling car in Sweden for many years.



Volvo S80

The Volvo S80 is an executive car produced by the Swedish automaker Volvo and was introduced in 1998 as a replacement for the rear-wheel drive Volvo 960/S90 sedan. The very first Volvo S80 rolled off the assembly line on May 6. Every single S80 has been built in the Torslanda plant in Gothenburg, Sweden. Unlike almost all other Volvo models, it did not have a station wagon version for its first generation. Now, the third generation V70 wagon is marketed as the estate version for the second generation S80 sedan. All of this is a part of a major product overhaul at Volvo, including a most luxurious large estate and sedan.

The first generation Volvo S80 had one of the world's highest crash test ratings in the premium mid size segment.The second generation Volvo S80 in June of 2007 scored the highest "good" rating in the IIHS crash test performance for frontal impacts

Volvo XC90

The Volvo XC90 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by Swedish automaker Volvo Cars since 2002, it was unveiled in Detroit Motor Show 2002. It is based on the Volvo P2 platform, shared with the Volvo S80 and other larger Volvo cars. It is Volvo's top-selling vehicle in the United States accounting for roughly 25% of the company's sales there. It is also Volvo's best selling model worldwide with 85,994 cars sold in 2005. It was launched at the same time as the Infiniti FX and Porsche Cayenne.

A new Volvo/Yamaha V8 engine was added in 2005. This 4.4 L Yamaha V8 engine produces 311 hp (232 kW) and 325 ft·lbf (441 Nm) of torque. The XC90 V8 will be priced at just over US$45,000 and it is expected that more than 15,000 would be sold per year.

The XC90 won the North American Car of the Year award and Motor Trend magazine's Sport/Utility of the Year for 2003.

The XC90 was updated for 2007 with a subtly-restyled front and rear and a more luxurious interior. The 235 hp 3.2 L SI6 straight-6 engine replaced the 208 hp B524T2 straight-5 in the base model for the US market. The 2007 XC90 debuted in April 2006 at the New York Auto Show.

The XC90 is produced at Volvo's Torslanda plant in Sweden.

Volvo C70

The Volvo C70 is a luxury cabriolet built by Volvo Car Corp. The C70 is available in convertible and (originally) coupe versions with a choice of manual or automatic transmission. In the United States prices for the C70 convertible started at $38,710 for the 2006 model year. It is being produced at the Pininfarina Sverige AB plant in Uddevalla, Sweden. This company is owned jointly by Volvo (40%) and Pininfarina SpA of Italy (60%).