Born in Sweden.
Invested in America.
Volvo Cars in the United States
70 years in the U.S.
1927
From our home in Sweden
On April 14, 1927, the very first Volvo rolled off the line in Gothenburg. That first car, ÖV4, was an open-top car, not exactly ideal for Swedish weather. It was quickly followed by the PV4, which had a roof.
Volvo started making cars in 1927 because we believed nobody else was making them strong enough or safe enough for Swedish roads. Volvo’s emblem, the Ironmark, is derived from the chemical symbol for iron and was chosen to represent the strength of the Swedish steel in our cars. And safety was at our core from the very start. Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson, co-founders of Volvo, said at the outset: “Cars are driven by people. Therefore, the guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo is and must remain safety.”
1954.
The Brooklyn Museum holds the first “Design in Scandinavia” exhibition in the US
1955
Arriving in America
In August 1955, a PV444 was unloaded at the port in Long Beach, California, becoming the very first Volvo imported to the United States. Volvo cars quickly gained popularity in the US for their quality, durability, and efficiency.
In our first year here, Volvo sold just 26 cars in the United States. Happily, sales increased 19,350% the following year, with 5,057 Volvo cars reaching American customers.
1956.
Volvo builds a dedicated model for the US, the fiberglass convertible P1900
1959
A little bit of Volvo in every car
Volvo was the first auto company to introduce three-point safety belts in cars. Volvo waived the patent rights so that everyone could benefit, and today every car sold features a three-point safety belt. Over time, that seat belt design has saved over one million lives and is estimated to save approximately 15,000 lives a year in the US, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Shortly after the invention of the three-point safety belt, Volvo conducted a comprehensive survey aimed at reducing injuries in auto accidents. This 1966 survey included every accident involving a Volvo in Sweden over a one-year period. The result suggested that the belt reduced injuries by 50 percent. Volvo realized that by knowing what happens to the car and its occupants in an accident – in the real world – can be invaluable to the development of safer cars. So in 1970, the Traffic Accident Research Team was formed to gather data for the Volvo Cars Safety Centre. The unit has been working continuously ever since, creating an invaluable database of real-world accidents that can be used to improve real-world safety.
1966.
Irv Gordon buys his Volvo 1800 in New York, which he will drive 3,260,257 miles - the highest mileage car in the world
1976
A new standard for safety
In 1976, our international reputation for advanced safety was confirmed when the US Government bought 24 of the Volvo 240 model for extensive crash testing. As a result of the tests, Volvo was officially chosen at the time as the benchmark to set safety standards for all new cars.
Volvo Cars Safety Centre is focused on learning from the real world, and sometimes that can mean inspiration comes from unlikely sources. The first car child seat designed to improve safety was inspired by watching the US launch spacecraft and return them to earth. A professor at Chalmers University of Technology, in Gothenburg, noticed that the astronauts faced rearward, which helped to distribute forces on the body. The first rearward-facing child seat was then developed in close collaboration with Volvo and the prototype was crash tested in a Volvo PV444.
1972.
The Volvo Experimental Safety Car (VESC) shown above debuts, featuring a number of new safety concepts
1977
Lower emissions, cleaner air
Volvo Cars was the first automaker to use a three-way catalytic converter with Lambda sensor for exhaust emission control, launching it in the American market with the Volvo 244. The innovation was an environmental breakthrough, reducing harmful emissions by up to 90%. To this day, it remains an integral part of all modern gasoline-powered cars and was called at the time “the most significant breakthrough ever made in the control of vehicle exhaust emissions” by the California Air Resources Board.
Volvo developed its first electric car in 1976. Called the Elbil (electric car in Swedish), the car was designed for a Swedish telecommunications company that was interested in a low-emissions way to drive short distances in Gothenburg. Twelve six-Volt batteries powered the vehicles for a range of roughly 31 miles or two hours of driving. At the time, electric cars were seen as slow and cumbersome to charge, even though their environmental friendliness and quiet operation were praised. Fast forward to 2025, and the US-assembled fully electric 2025 Volvo EX90 is the one of the most powerful Volvos ever made, accelerating to 60 mph in as little as 4.7 seconds and featuring a long electric range.
1991
Protection from every angle
Volvo Cars introduced SIPS (side impact prevention system) in 1991, a reinforced body structure that directs crash forces away from passengers. The world’s first side impact torso airbags were introduced in 1994, and in 1998 side protection was enhanced further with the introduction of the inflatable curtain airbag that deploys from the roof. Our first SUV, the XC90, introduced curtain airbags for all three rows of seating in 2002.
Because most crash test dummies represent an average male body, Volvo Cars has been working for decades to equalize accident outcomes for all people—regardless of gender, age, body size or shape, or the type of accident they are in. In 2019, we went a step further and launched the Equal Vehicles for All (E.V.A.) initiative, which made decades of safety knowledge, research, and data easily accessible in a central digital library—for free. This work continues today, and in the upcoming Volvo EX60 we will launch the multi-adaptive safety belt, the first safety belt that can use sensor data to adapt to the size, shape, weight, and seating position of occupants in real-time to better protect them in an accident.
2024.
Volvo steps in to reach the Alex’s Lemonade Stand fundraising goal, beginning a decades long partnership
2008
AUTO BRAKE
A car that can stop on its own
Starting with our first Volvo XC60, we introduced City Safety to help reduce the risk of rear-end collisions. Using laser to detect potential hazards, this autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system became standard in all new Volvo models by 2016. From 2029, NHTSA will require AEB in all new cars sold in the US.
When we launched City Safety in 2008 it was designed to prevent rear-end car-to-car collisions, and studies have shown it did so quite well. But we didn’t stop there. We expanded the technology to help avoid other types of collisions as well as to recognize and help brake for pedestrians, cyclists, and large animals such as moose—something you need to take into consideration when you’re from Sweden.
2018
The start of production in South Carolina
Volvo Cars broke ground on our first US production plant in 2015, and the S60 began rolling off the line in Ridgeville, South Carolina, in 2018. Today, our flagship fully electric SUV, the EX90, is assembled in the US by over 2,000 local employees for export around the world. Soon, two additional models will be added to production there.
When Volvo Cars began recruiting for its first manufacturing plant in the U.S., Quinnshona ‘Meka’ Sumpter took the opportunity to get in on the ground floor. With a background in manufacturing, she was able to jump right into the Volvo Cars family as one of the first 100 hires. Meka enjoyed the work so much that she encouraged her most prized possessions – her own children – to find opportunities with the company. Today, three of her kids work alongside her across different areas of the business. And if she has it her way, her grandchildren will work there one day, too.
2020.
The first electric Volvo comes to the US, the XC40 Recharge
2025
70 years in the US
Over the last 70 years, Volvo cars have made an indelible mark on American culture, becoming a part of generations of families across the country creating their own Volvo stories.
281 retailers in 48 states
Volvo retailers employ over 10,000 people in their local communities across the United States, in addition to the over 2,500 employed by Volvo Cars’ corporate and manufacturing presence.
5,000,000 Volvo stories
In March 2025, the Volvo Cars sold its 5 millionth car in the US–an XC60 delivered in Illinois to longtime Volvo drivers.
$1,300,000,000 invested in US manufacturing
Our state-of-the art plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, is designed to produce up to 150,000 cars per year–electric, hybrid, or gas.
2 new models announced for our Charleston Plant
In September 2025, we announced we’ll be building two new models in the US: a next-generation hybrid and the XC60, now Volvo Cars’ best-selling model of all time.
70 years in the US
Over the last 70 years, Volvo cars have made an indelible mark on American culture, becoming a part of generations of families across the country creating their own Volvo stories.
281 retailers in 48 states
Volvo retailers employ over 10,000 people in their local communities across the United States, in addition to the over 2,500 employed by Volvo Cars’ corporate and manufacturing presence.
5,000,000 Volvo stories
In March 2025, the Volvo Cars sold its 5 millionth car in the US–an XC60 delivered in Illinois to longtime Volvo drivers.
$1,300,000,000 invested in US manufacturing
Our state-of-the art plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, is designed to produce up to 150,000 cars per year–electric, hybrid, or gas.
2 new models announced for our Charleston Plant
In September 2025, we announced we’ll be building two new models in the US: a next-generation hybrid and the XC60, now Volvo Cars’ best-selling model of all time.
70 years is just the beginning.