In a way, Volvo's ownership has gone full circle, with seemingly as many twists and turns (yes, it's an odd circle) and ways to trade as it's possible to trade under. Over its 90 year history, Volvo's story begins in 1924, when ball bearing manufacturer SKF branched out into automobiles, producing the first Volvo in 1927. Initially simply a minor subsidiary of SKF, Volvo went on to branch into commercial vehicles, heavy machinery and even marine engines.
It took only a few years of trading for Volvo to become hugely successful. SKF's selloff of the Volvo Group happened in 1935, after the group was floated on the Stockholm stock exchange. From then until 2000 Volvo operated as an independent company with Volvo cars as its automotive subsidiary, and this period saw huge growth as the Gothenburg manufacturer went from strength to strength.
(Left - SKF's headquarters in Gothenburg, courtesy of Mangan2002)
Above: the legendary P1800 was produced under an independent, and is one of the brand's most iconic cars.
Never a mainstream carmaker, Volvo's state of independence saw through distinctive and successful models such as the Amazon, 200 Series and 850, marking a 'golden age' for Volvo. The Autumn of 1955 saw a particular milestone in Volvo's independent lifetime, as for the first time it began exporting cars to the USA. From here, Volvo's success skyrocketed, with particular success in 1986. After this, however, the advent of Japanese luxury marques saw Volvo's market share shrink as its competitors grew exponentially in number.
From that moment on, Volvo's problems started. Facing a dramatic decline in sales after losing a hefty share of the market to the likes of Lexus, Volvo went into freefall. Eventually, in 1999 Volvo Group parted ways with Volvo Cars, selling to Ford for $6.45billion in 2000. Now sitting in Ford's Premier Automotive Group along with Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover, Volvo started the 21st Century as part of an automotive giant, with its parts being shared across a range of Ford Motor Company products.
Although the range of Volvo products grew under Ford, Volvo's future was unsteady. With mounting monetary troubles, Ford looked to Volvo to alleviate its worries. Hundreds of workers were laid off, sparking rumours that not just Volvo, but the entire Ford group were going under. Just ten years after Ford's acquisition of Volvo, it was sold to Geely Group Holdings Co. for just $1.5billion - almost a $4billion loss for Ford.
Above: the S80 was a marker of Volvo's move upmarket, a priority of Ford's management of Volvo.
Geely's groundbreaking buyout of Volvo was the turning point in Volvo's bumpy period, as after the captivity of Ford's stifling management, Geely allows Volvo to operate as if it were an independent company; retaining the brand's home of Gothenburg, as well as Swedish management. So toxic was the relationship between Volvo and Ford that Volvo aims by 2016 to be fully independent of Ford, not using a single Ford part in any of its lineup. Already gathering momentum and huge attention from economists and car fans alike, Geely's illustrious partnership with Volvo and its even more illustrious business plan, not only its stability but its expansion is as convincing as it is ambitious. To this day, Volvo, and by extension Geely, continues to make headlines across the motoring and economic media.
http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21615677-volvo
http://jalopnik.com/volvo-has-a-plan-to-bring-itself-back-from-the-nearly-d-1660747889
https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressreleases/5072
http://www.drivesouth.co.nz/news/6633/volvo-serves-notice-to-1200-employees-in-sweden
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-06-25-volvo-layoffs_N.htm
http://www.ibtimes.com/volvo-xc90-release-first-model-produced-under-chinese-ownership-will-be-revealed-next-week-1661410
http://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2014/10/27/geely-in-swedish/2/
Interview material: original content obtained via email interview with M. Bayntun
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