Volvo has been a safe and reliable producer of cars for almost a century now. It remains relevant today, along with other big names like Mazda. Volvo has a long and complicated ownership history, so there’s no one answer to the question, “Who is the main owner of Volvo?” But we can explore its ownership history from the early days to the present.
It all started in 1927 in Gothenburg, Sweden, when the automotive industry was still in its infancy. Two men, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson, decided to create a new Swedish car company. Their first car was the Volvo ÖV4, which rolled off the production line on April 14th, 1927. For many decades after that, Volvo remained an independent company, making cars and trucks without being owned by anyone else.
The First Change of Owners
However, in 1999, something big happened. Volvo Cars, which was part of the company that made regular cars for normal people, was sold to another huge car company, Ford Motor Company, for over $6 billion. Ford bought the company because they had created what was called the Premier Automotive Group, or PAG. Ford’s idea was to buy up many fancy car brands like Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover, and try to make them all successful together.
Sadly, Ford’s plan didn’t work out very well. After just a few years of owning all those different luxury brands, Ford decided their PAG idea was not making enough money. So, they started selling off the car brands again one by one. Jaguar and Land Rover went to an Indian company called Tata Motors. Volvo Cars was the last brand still owned by Ford from the failed PAG plan.
Is the Geely the Main Owner of Volvo?
In 2010, Ford finally found a new company willing to buy Volvo Cars from them. This company was Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which is based in China. Geely paid Ford over $1.5 billion to purchase Volvo Cars and become its new owner.
Volvo Cars has had significant progress under Geely’s ownership. Geely invested heavily in developing new models and expanding Volvo’s lineup with premium products. One of the first major new products was the second-generation XC90 SUV in 2015. It marked an innovation in design, safety features, and eco-friendly powertrains like plug-in hybrids.
The partnership between Volvo and Geely also involves sharing technology and resources across both companies. Geely has given Volvo access to its lower-cost supply chains and engineering capabilities while benefitting from Volvo’s expertise in premium vehicle development and safety systems. Together, they aim to elevate each other to be stronger global competitors.
The Volvo Group Today
If Geely owns Volvo’s car division, who exactly owns the other parts of Volvo that make trucks, buses, construction equipment, and boat engines? Well, that falls under a different part of the company called the Volvo Group. The Volvo Group and Volvo Cars split apart and became two separate companies when Ford bought the car division in 1999.
The main owner of the Volvo Group is not just a single company or person. The Volvo Group is a public company, meaning it has many different shareholders that own small portions of the company. Some of the biggest shareholders are investment firms like Industrivärden AB from Sweden and Geely itself. The company also owns a stake in the truck/bus/equipment side of Volvo.
The Volvo Group is a massive company with many different sections. It owns Volvo Trucks, a brand of semi-trucks and other big trucks. It also owns Renault Trucks from France, Mack Trucks from the USA, and Volvo Construction Equipment, which makes big dig machines. Volvo Group even has bus brands like Prevost and Nova. And there’s also Volvo Penta, which makes engines for boats. There’s also a Volvo Financial Services division that helps provide loans.
Future of Volvo Group
Looking ahead, the Volvo Group has some exciting plans. They are partnering and creating joint companies with other vehicle makers to develop new technologies. Some examples are Milence, which will build charging stations for electric semi-trucks across Europe, and Cellcentric, which works on hydrogen fuel cells.
Volvo Group cares a lot about sustainability and the environment, too. They want to create more electric vehicles that don’t pollute and self-driving trucks and buses that can drive themselves safely. But of course, making all these changes to go green and drive autonomously won’t be easy. Volvo Group will face challenges along the way.
The Bottom Line of Who is the Main Owner of Volvo
The main owner of the car division of Volvo Cars is Geely from China. However, the owner of Volvo’s truck, bus, equipment, and engine divisions under the Volvo Group is not just a single company. It has many shareholders invested in it. While their histories were connected at first, Volvo Cars and Volvo Group are now separate companies with different owners after the split in 1999. However, the iconic Volvo brand and its core principles remain central to both companies as they steer towards an innovative and sustainable future.
