Welcome to this new series Logo, historypodcastAutoPlus.fr which traces the history of brands through their logos.
For this 14th episodewe go to the northern regions of Europe to Sweden, a country where Volvo was born at the beginning of the 20th century. The cult manufacturer of the Scandinavian country is known both for the safety of its cars, their strength, and more recently for Swedish sophistication!
A look back at the history of Volvo and its origins through the history of its logo!
Volvo translated from Latin means “I drive”!
We are in the early 20sthousand century. SKF has just developed a new type of ball bearing for Svenska KullagerFabriken. And the very name Volvo will be engraved on the first copy in June 1915. Assar Gabrielsson, sales manager, is an ambitious person. Seeking to diversify his activities, he has the idea of designing a car with his bearings. In the summer of 1924, everything accelerated. He meets engineer Gustav Larsson, who also works at SKF. With the same idea, they then develop plans for the first car model. Since 1926, there are already a dozen copies that have already been collected. Then their company became interested in these vehicles and it was quickly decided to produce them under the company name. But it is obvious that all models that will leave this factory will bear the Volvo name!
On April 14, 1927, the first Volvo rolled off the assembly line at the Hisingen Island plant in Gothenburg, Sweden. This is the ÖV4, a convertible with a 4-cylinder engine. And on the grille of this first car is a simple blue oval with the inscription “Volvo Göthenburg Sweden”. Well-engineered, Volvos were primarily quite bourgeois cars, powered by six-cylinder units from 1929. But most of the turnover is ensured, first of all, by the sale of heavy vehicles last year. Since 1930, the logo has radically changed its shape. It is now a circle crossed by a diagonal arrow pointing up. We also notice a strip that crosses the entire width of the radiator.
But what is the meaning of this logo?
More details here:
Source: Auto Plus
Robert is an experienced journalist who has been covering the automobile industry for over a decade. He has a deep understanding of the latest technologies and trends in the industry and is known for his thorough and in-depth reporting.