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History of Volvo

Established in 1915, AB Volvo is a leading manufacturer of cars, trucks, buses, and heavy machinery. The company employs 100,000 workers, operates production facilities in 20 countries, and markets heavy-duty vehicles in 190 markets. Volvo is best known for its practical, safe consumer vehicles that were the company's flagship product for decades. However, Volvo sold its consumer vehicle division to the Ford Motor Company for $6.45 billion in 1999. By 2008, the division was no longer profitable, and Ford liquidated its interests. Volvo's car division and all shared trademarks are currently owned by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Geely purchased the company for $1.8 billion in 2010.

Volvo Trucks

Volvo posted a gross revenue of $46.6 billion in 2011. These earnings come from Volvo's truck and heavy equipment divisions and several subsidiaries. The company currently owns Mack Trucks, Renault's heavy equipment division, the Indian truck brand Eicher, and the Chinese construction equipment manufacturer SDLG. It also owns Penta marine engines, Nova Bus, and UD Trucks, which manufactures buses and trucks. In 2012, Volvo sold its Volvo Aero division to GKN Aerospace for $1 billion. Today, Volvo is the world's largest truck manufacturer and the third largest construction equipment manufacturer. It is also the largest manufacturer of heavy-duty diesel engines. Volvo has been publicly traded on Stockholm's NASDAQ OMK Nordic Group stock exchange since 1986. The company implemented a new corporate structure in 2012 that combines marketing and sales units for all its brands and divides its global market into three segments that are overseen by the CEO.

Volvo Cars

The first Volvo car was released in 1927 when the company's founder developed a commercially viable vehicle that could withstand Sweden's brutal winters and icy roads. State-of-the-art engineering, durability, and safety are still hallmarks of the brand. Under Geely Holdings, the Volvo Car Corporation has experienced strong growth. Sales increased 20 percent between 2010 and 2011, and the company plans to double its vehicle production by 2020. The Volvo headquarters remains in Gothenburg, Sweden, but the company has expanded its presence in China and hopes that the country will become a second home market. Volvo cars are manufactured in Sweden, Belgium, and a collective plant in Chongqing, China, that is owned by Ford and Mazda. Volvo's car division employs 21,500 workers and sells cars through 2,300 dealers in 100 countries.