Eighty years ago today the Swedish vehicle manufacturer Volvo produced their first car. On 14th April, 1927, the first ÖV4 - nicknamed the 'Jakob' left the company's Hisingen factory in Gothenburg driven by Sales Director, Hilmer Johansson. The ÖV4 - Öppen Vagn 4 cylindrar ("Open Carriage 4 cylinders") - had a 1940cc engine producing 28hp; however, the cabriolet design did not suit the Swedish climate.
Three years earlier, two employees of ball bearing manufacturer AB SKF, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson, decided that Sweden needed a car industry. So, they founded Volvo - Latin for 'I roll' - as a subsidiary of AB SKF. The company went on to produce their first truck in 1927; in 1934, they manufactured their first bus; and after World War II, a very successful line of tractors.
For more information about Volvo through the years, see the history page on their web site.
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14 April 2009
On this day in history: First Volvo car produced, 1927
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2 comments:
I have recently begun a blog in this vein. I've been writing essays about Little Bits of History for years now :) and decided to publish some in a blog format.
I've enjoyed your work and find we are taking up the same topics, but presenting them in quite different manners. I've got you bookmarked now. It will be interesting to see how often our topics intersect.
Thank you for the kind words. I have added your site to my blogroll.
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