“A Symbol of Strength, Always the Iron Mark”
Volvo Trucks has a very exciting history of their transitional journey from manufacturing their very first Volvo, to becoming the renowned giant truck manufacturing company in the world today. This is not just the history of how Volvo Trucks evolved, but also an anecdote of how the modern-day trucks were developed.
Where It All Began
Volvo Trucks is a subgroup of the Volvo Group of companies. The first ever car from the Volvo Group came out in the market in 1927, from their first factory in Sweden. Their very first truck from Series 1 was released in the beginning of 1928. During that time, trucks were recognized as the complementary means of transporting goods along with railways, cargo ships and horse-drawn wagons.
The decade of the 1930s saw rapid growth for Volvo. There were new and improved products and successful launches of many ranges. Initially, the first Volvo Trucks were slightly old-fashioned, as compared to those of their competitors. Soon, Volvo had caught up with the market and became the leading manufacturer of trucks in the Nordic region.
Entering World Markets
Volvo Trucks are present in more than 130 countries across the globe. This availability is a result of their more than 650 dealerships, which are currently existent along with their 1,450 workshops. They are by far the third-largest manufacturers in the world of heavy-duty trucks. They have 9 assembly plants all over the world. Apart from that 8 factories are also owned by their local partners. What started as a Swedish company with export sales soon became a European company with assemblies in Belgium and Scotland as well.
They first entered the truck market of North America in 1959. By the mid-1970s, Volvo of America Corporation was formed and they became an established part of the United States truck market. Since then, there has been no looking back. There has only been one way to go for Volvo and that is ‘up.’
Evolution of Volvo Trucks
By the 1950s, the design of the trucks was slightly modified and stayed the same. But there were major changes in the development of their engines. Older trucks had been using a basic pre-chamber-combustion diesel engine that was fuel consuming. Even the petrol engines weren’t any better. Volvo introduced an efficient direct-injection diesel engine.
In summary, Volvo Trucks was the pioneer in the development of turbocharged engines. These engines made it possible to build trucks that were longer and could lift heavier weights. Today, almost ninety percent of Volvo Trucks are heavy-duty and can carry the weight of up to 16 tons.
Soon power-steering was added to the trucks to make handling of the truck easier for the driver. Volvo also was the first to introduce sleeper cabs in the trucks for its drivers.
From the beginning, Volvo Trucks were designed by its founders to bear the harsh cold climate of Sweden. They were also designed to perform best, with great care taken to make sure you don’t constantly have to replace Volvo truck parts given the bad condition of Sweden’s roads at the time. For Volvo, safety was and always will be the foremost important feature of all their vehicles.
