volvo . for the separate manufacturer of passenger vehicles see volvo cars . for other uses see volvo disambiguation . aktiebolaget volvo type publicly traded aktiebolag traded as nasdaq stockholm volv b industry heavy equipment founded 1927 ; 89 years ago 1927 founders assar gabrielsson and gustav larson headquarters gothenburg sweden area served worldwide key people carl henric svanberg chairman martin lundstedt president and ceo products trucks buses construction equipment marine and industrial engines financial services revenue 312.52 kr billion 2015 1 operating income 23.32 kr billion 2015 1 profit 15.10 kr billion 2015 1 total assets 374.17 kr billion 2015 1 total equity 85.61 kr billion 2016 1 number of employees 99 501 2015 1 subsidiaries mack trucks renault trucks ud trucks volvo construction equipment volvo buses volvo trucks volvo penta ve commercial vehicles 50 % website volvogroup.com the volvo group swedish volvokoncernen ; legally aktiebolaget volvo shortened to ab volvo stylised as volvo is a swedish multinational manufacturing company headquartered in gothenburg . while its core activity is the production distribution and sale of trucks buses and construction equipment volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems and financial services . although the two firms are still often conflated volvo cars also based in gothenburg has been a totally separate company since it was sold to the ford motor company in 1999 . the companies still share the volvo logo and co operate in running the volvo museum . volvo was established in 1915 as a subsidiary of skf the ball bearing manufacturer ; however the volvo group and volvo cars consider themselves to have been officially founded on 14 april 1927 when the first car the volvo v 4 series affectionately known as jakob rolled out of the factory in hisingen gothenburg . 2 the building remains 57 42 50 n 11 55 19 e 57.71389 n 11.92194 e 57.71389 ; 11.92194 . volvo means i roll in latin conjugated from volvere in reference to ball bearings . the brand name volvo was originally registered as a trademark in may 1911 with the intention to be used for a new series of skf ball bearings . this idea was only used for a short period and skf decided to simply use skf as the trademark for all its bearing products . in 1924 assar gabrielsson an skf sales manager and engineer gustav larson the two founders decided to start construction of a swedish car . their vision was to build cars that could withstand the rigors of the country s rough roads and cold temperatures . 3 ab volvo began activities on 10 august 1926 . after one year of preparations involving the production of ten prototypes the firm was ready to commence the car manufacturing business within the skf group . ab volvo was introduced at the stockholm stock exchange in 1935 and skf then decided to sell its shares in the company . volvo was delisted from nasdaq in june 2007 but remains listed on the stockholm stock exchange . 4 contents 1 history 2 business 3 trademark 4 brands 5 no longer part of volvo 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit the first volvo car that left the assembly line on 14 april 1927 . the volvo group has its origin in 1927 when the first volvo car rolled off the production line at the factory in gothenburg . 5 only 280 cars were built that year . 6 the first truck the series 1 debuted in january 1928 as an immediate success and attracted attention outside the country . 7 in 1930 volvo sold 639 cars 6 and the export of trucks to europe started soon after ; the cars did not become well known outside sweden until after world war ii . 6 pentaverken who had manufactured engines for volvo was acquired in 1935 providing a secure supply of engines and entry into the marine engine market . 8 the first bus named b1 was launched in 1934 and aircraft engines were added to the growing range of products at the beginning of the 1940s . in 1963 volvo opened the volvo halifax assembly plant the first assembly plant in the company s history outside of sweden in halifax nova scotia canada . in 1999 the european union blocked a merger with scania ab . that same year volvo group sold its car division volvo car corporation to ford motor company for 6.45 billion . the division was placed within ford s premier automotive group alongside jaguar land rover and aston martin . volvo engineering resources and components would be used in various ford land rover and aston martin products with the second generation land rover freelander designed on the same platform as the second generation volvo s80 . the volvo t5 petrol engine was used in the ford focus st and rs performance models and volvo s satellite navigation system was used on certain aston martin vanquish db9 and v8 vantage models . 9 10 11 ford sold the volvo car corporation in 2010 to geely automobile of china for 1.8 billion . the move followed ford s 2007 sale of aston martin and 2008 sale of jaguar land rover . 12 renault v hicules industriels which included mack trucks but not renault s stake in irisbus was sold to volvo during january 2001 and volvo renamed it renault trucks in 2002 . renault became ab volvo s biggest shareholder with a 19.9 % stake in shares and voting rights as part of the deal . 13 renault increased its shareholding to 21.7 % by 2010 . 14 ab volvo acquired 13 % of the shares in the japanese truck manufacturer ud trucks the former nissan diesel from nissan motor co ltd part of the renault nissan alliance during 2006 becoming a major shareholder . volvo group took complete ownership of nissan diesel in 2007 to extend its presence in the asian pacific market . 3 15 renault sold 14.9 % of their stake in ab volvo in october 2010 comprising 14.9 % of the share capital and 3.8 % of the voting rights for 3.02 bn . this share sale left renault with around 17.5 % of volvo s voting rights . 14 renault sold their remaining shares in december 2012 comprising 6.5 % of the share capital and 17.2 % of the voting rights at the time of transaction for 1.6 bn leaving swedish industrial investment group aktiebolaget industriv rden as the largest shareholder with 6.2 % of the share capital and 18.7 % of the voting rights . 16 17 business edit a bangalore metropolitan transport corporation volvo bus . the volvo b7rle in chennai . these buses are extensively used in public transportation systems . volvo group s operations include mack trucks light duty trucks for close distribution and heavy duty trucks for long distance transportation renault trucks heavy duty trucks for regional transportations and heavy duty trucks for the construction work segment sdlg shandong lingong construction machinery co. ltd. china ud trucks midsize duty trucks volvo buses complete buses and bus chassis for city traffic line traffic and tourist traffic ve commercial vehicles ltd vecv a 50 50 joint venture between the volvo group and eicher motors limited volvo construction equipment construction machines previously volvo bm see also ab bolinder munktell volvo financial services customer financing inter group banking as real estate administration volvo information technology volvo penta marine engine systems for leisure boats and commercial shipping diesel engines and drive systems for industrial applications volvo trucks midsize duty trucks for regional transportation and heavy duty trucks for long distance transportation as well as heavy duty trucks for the construction work segment trademark edit volvo trademark holding ab is equally owned by ab volvo and volvo car corporation . 18 the main activity of the company is to own maintain protect and preserve the volvo trademarks including volvo the volvo device marks grille slash & iron mark volvo aero and volvo penta on behalf of its owners and to license these rights to its owners . the day to day work is focused upon maintaining the global portfolio of trademark registrations and to extend sufficiently the scope of the registered protection for the volvo trademarks . the main business is also to act against unauthorised registration and use including counterfeiting of trademarks identical or similar to the volvo trademarks on a global basis . 19 brands edit eicher 50 50 joint venture with eicher motors india mack trucks nova bus prevost renault trucks sdlg shandong lingong china citation needed ud trucks volvo construction equipment volvo financial services volvo penta volvo trucks no longer part of volvo edit volvo aero volvo cars volvo rents see also edit port of gothenburg references edit a b c d e f the volvo group annual and sustainability report 2015 pdf . volvo s founders volvo group global . volvo . 14 april 1927 . retrieved 12 june 2009 . a b history time line volvo group global . volvo . retrieved 12 june 2009 . ab volvo applies for delisting from nasdaq . forbes . 14 june 2007 . retrieved 6 november 2010 . volvo group global . volvo 80 years . volvo . retrieved 6 november 2010 . a b c georgano g. n. cars early and vintage 1886 1930 . london grange universal 1985 isbn 9781590844915 volvo 80 years volvo group global . volvo . retrieved 12 june 2009 . 1930 history volvo penta . volvo penta . retrieved 28 november 2013 . simister john november 2006 . volvo c30 t5 se . evo magazine evo . retrieved 29 november 2013 . the t5 petrol engine is almost the same as the one borrowed from volvo by ford for the focus st. . . aston s clearer advantage . the scotsman . 29 november 2013 . retrieved 29 november 2013 . the optional satellite navigation remains a volvo sourced system that is absurdly fiddly . simister john december 2006 . land rover freelander . evo magazine evo . retrieved 29 november 2013 . but it s good news for the new freelander 2 based on the s max s80 next mondeo platform powered in the top model by a 229bhp volvo straight six volvo sale signed by geely and ford . bbc news . bbc . 28 march 2010 . retrieved 29 november 2013 . ab volvo transfer remaining shares to renault s.a . volvo . 9 february 2001 . retrieved 29 november 2013 . a b renault raises 3bn with part sale of volvo stake . the daily telegraph . 7 october 2010 . retrieved 29 november 2013 . volvo in 1.1 bn nissan purchase . bbc news . bbc . 20 february 2007 . retrieved 29 november 2013 . pearson david 12 december 2012 . renault to sell rest of its volvo stake . wall street journal . retrieved 29 november 2013 . industriv rden strengthens its ownership position in volvo . industriv rden . 13 december 2012 . retrieved 29 november 2013 . volvo annual report 1999 . . volvo.com . retrieved 6 november 2010 . the volvo brand name volvo annual report 1999 . . volvo.com . retrieved 6 november 2010 . external links edit official volvo group website official volvo website for volvo branded companies . v t e automotive industry in sweden automotive industry economy of sweden transport in sweden swedish vehicle manufacturers dala7 koenigsegg nevs saab scania volvo volvo buses volvo construction equipment volvo trucks volvo cars components autoliv haldex haldex traction skf trelleborg ab motorsport and tuners caresto polestar polestar cyan racing other power big meet swedish transport agency v t e omx stockholm 30 companies of sweden abb alfa laval assa abloy astrazeneca atlas copco boliden electrolux ericsson getinge hennes & mauritz investor ab kinnevik lundin petroleum modern times group nokia nordea sandvik sca seb securitas skanska skf ssab svenska handelsbanken swedbank swedish match tele2