Volvo

Volvo Cars celebrates 70 years in the US  

After its founding in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1927, Volvo Cars brought their first car to the United States in the summer of 1955 when Swedish-built PV444s were unloaded at the port in Long Beach, California. That year, the company sold 26 cars. Just one year later, in 1956, sales rose to 5,047 cars, and in 1957, Volvo Cars became the second-largest import brand in California. By 1974, the United States had become the company’s largest market, showcasing the popularity of Volvo Cars in America.  
  
Today, nearly 70 years later, Volvo Cars has sold over 5 million cars in the United States.  
  
A little bit of Volvo in every car   

In 1959, Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin first introduced the three-point safety belt to the Volvo PV544 series – an invention that later became the manufacturer’s gift to the world when the company waived its patent rights so everyone could benefit from the groundbreaking technology. By 1963, Volvo Cars introduced the three-point safety belt, as standard, to the U.S. market and all markets where the feature was not yet fitted. To date, the three-point safety belt has saved more than 1 million lives – and is estimated to save nearly 15,000 lives per year in the United States alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  
  
In 1976, the US government chose Volvo cars as the benchmark to set safety standards for all new cars, purchasing a fleet of Volvo 240s for use in extensive crash testing.  

That same year, Volvo Cars became the first automaker to use the Lambda sensor for exhaust emission control, introducing it with the 200-series of cars in the United States. The innovation was considered an environmental breakthrough, leading to a reduction in harmful emissions by up to 90%. To this day, the Lambda sensor remains an integral part of all modern gasoline-powered vehicles and was called “the most significant breakthrough ever made in the control of vehicle exhaust emissions” at the time by the California Air Resources Board.  
  
A force for good in the community  
Volvo Cars has remained steadfast in its commitments to the U.S. market. As of 2025, Volvo Car USA boasts a dedicated retail network of 281 retailers across 48 states who employ approximately 11,500 people in local communities throughout the country.   
  
In September 2015, Volvo Cars proudly broke ground on its first U.S. production plant located in Ridgeville, South Carolina. Today, the 2.3 million square foot facility employs approximately 2,500 workers across its body shop, paint shop, battery assembly plant, final assembly line, vehicle processing center, and office building. The Ridgeville plant began assembling the S60 premium sedan in 2018 and today assembles its fully electric flagship SUV, the Volvo EX90, for the American market and for export around the world. In July of 2025, Volvo Cars announced it would bring another model to its South Carolina plant – its all-time best-selling car ever, the XC60.