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Impress your customers with these lesser known Volvo facts and stories
If you sell Volvos, you already know the obvious: they’re not the flashiest, sexiest vehicles out there. You’re not going to sell a Volvo to a bachelor with his eyes on a great looking sports car.
But you also know some other major Volvo facts—they are one of the most reliable, and possibly safest, auto brands out there. Volvo is a pioneer in vehicle safety and some of the most important safety features of our time have come out of a Volvo factory. And, honestly? Their most recent models are looking pretty snazzy.
Buying a Volvo is a great investment, so help your customers make the right choice when it comes time to buy. Learn these interesting Volvo facts to pique their interest and show them what a great brand Volvo truly is.
Volvo facts to keep in your back pocket and make the sale
1. Crayfish brought the founders together.
In 1924, Gustaf Larson and Assar Gabrielsson, former co-workers, ran into each other at the seafood restaurant Sturehof in Stockholm, Sweden. Both men had been lured in by the fresh crayfish on the menu. They began discussing how most of the 15,000 cars imported into Sweden every year were from the United States. They decided to create their own Swedish car brand and started designing the first vehicle a month later.
2. The first Volvo was the Oppen Vagn 4 cylindrar (OV4 for short).
It was released on April 14, 1927. It drove out of the factory gate in Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden.
3. Volvo speaks ancient languages.
Volvo is Latin for “I roll.”
4. People can’t get enough.
The PV444, “The Little Volvo,” was presented in Stockholm on September 1, 1944, and made Volvo and international company. Over the course of two weeks, 2,300 people placed orders.
5. Volvo’s logo isn’t what you think it is.
It’s the ancient chemical symbol for iron and Volvo’s founders were inspired by their time working for a steel company. Known as the “Iron Mark,” it’s meant to reflect the brand’s strength, safety, and durability.
6. Volvo began exporting to the U.S. in August 1955.
The first car arrived in Long Beach, California (it was a PV444) and two years later, Volvo was the second biggest import brand in California. By 1974, the U.S. was Volvo’s biggest market.
7. Volvo may have saved your life.
Nils Bohlin, a Volvo engineer, created the three-point safety belt design that we still use today. It debuted in the Volvo PV544 in 1959, but Volvo waived the patent rights so everybody could benefit from the new safety feature.
8. The Volvo 140-series was the first car to thoroughly address safety issues.
It had disc brakes all around, a collapsible steering column, dual-circuit brake system, and energy-absorbing crumple zones in the front and back.
9.Volvo engineers decreased smog.
In 1976, Volvo introduced the lambda sond, an oxygen-sensing probe that was able to reduce harmful exhaust emission by 90 percent. The California Air Resources Board called it “the most significant breakthrough ever made in the control of vehicle exhaust emissions.” Like the three-point seatbelt, Volvo waived the patent rights, and today, almost every car has one.
10. The Volvo 240 set the standard for safety.
It was such a safe, well-made car that the U.S. government bought 24 of them for crash testing. The Volvo 240 was chosen as the benchmark to set safety standards for all new cars.
11. Volvo can fly.
Volvo and Saab came together to create what was Sweden’s primary fighter plane from 1971 until 2005. It was designed and produced by Saab, but Volvo Aero supplied the RM8 turbofan engine.
12. Volvo is a record setter.
A Volvo is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the non-commercial vehicle with the highest mileage. Irvin Gordon from Long Island hit three million miles on his 1966 Volvo 1800S on September 18, 2013. Irvin purchased the car on June 30, 1966, for $4,150 when he was 25 years old and drives it about 85,000-100,000 miles per year.
13. Volvo keeps some interesting company.
Ford Motor Company bought Volvo Car Corporation in 1999 for 50 billion Swedish kronor, which is about $5.6 billion. Volvo became part of the Premier Automotive Group together with Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, and Lincoln.
14. Volvo is global.
In 2010, Ford Motor Company sold Volvo Cars to Geely, a Chinese company. The first China manufacturing plant was opened in 2013.
15. Volvo is all about safety, yet again.
Volvo’s current vision is that by 2020, no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car. They are continually working on technology to make future vehicles as safe as possible.
16. Volvo is a winner.
Since its launch in 2015, the Volvo XC90 has won more than 70 awards. Awards include Auto Express Car of the Year 2015, Business Insider 2015 Car of the Year, Motor Trend SUV of the Year 2016, North American Truck of the Year 2016, and Sunday Times Top 100 Cars 2016: Top Large SUV and 4×4.
Chances are, you sell other car brands as well. Facts are fun to read and memorize in your free time, so use these other lists to increase your arsenal of sales tools: Ford, Honda, Jeep, Toyota, Nissan, and Volkswagen.
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