In today's society, having a car is a necessity; it’s no longer a luxury. It is our initial mode of transportation, making life easier.

Breaking the mold and bringing the future closer means reducing travel time while maintaining a high level of safety. Automation is inevitable and will bring us one step closer to the future in many ways.

Assar Gabrielsson is the genius behind the great idea of recreating the ordinary. His idea to help people, make life easier and safer, plus the great desire for driving, brought the dream into reality with Volvo.

Volvo became the standard of high quality and a benchmark for safety worldwide. Combining the best perks a vehicle can own while inventing eco-friendly parts for every car has brought Volvo into its special place on the market.

Stick around to read all about how Assar Gabrielsson realized the idea that would change the future with Volvo.

The Young Go-getter

Assar Gabrielsson was born and raised as an ordinary child. Assar entered the world on 13 August 1891 in Korsberga, Skaraborg County, Sweden. He grew up with his two brothers, who inherited the business of their father, Gabriel Nathanael Gabrielsson.

Even as a young child, Assar exuded a passion for traveling and being on the move, and as time went by, Assar’s infatuation with cars grew deeper. However, as Assar grew older, he learned that owning a car that offered both safety and performance was far away from his reach.

Guided by the disappointing fact, as time went by, Assar made it his mission to make something spectacular, something that’ll drive humanity in the right direction. Making his, and other peoples’ lives easier, Assar set on a journey.

Achieving good grades was an easy task for Assar, as he was driven for success no matter what. Assar effortlessly completed his studentexamen, a maturity examination in Sweden, in record time and moved one step closer to realizing his dreams and specializing in business.

Assar graduated from Stockholm School of Economics, a private business school. Immediately after his graduation, Assar started to pursue his professional career and work on multiple business projects.

Leaving a Mark in History

Assar Gabrielsson confirmed his talents when he earned himself a Bachelor’s degree in Economics with ease. Assar’s mentor was proud of his evolution during his student days and told Assar to keep pushing forward and improving himself. Obviously, Assar’s potential wasn’t overlooked by his mentor, who predicted that Assar would become a spectacular businessman.

During his professional journey, Assar garnered great sets of skills to start up any business. Assar’s first employment was working for a bearing company as a sales manager, starting right after he graduated. This role helped Assar get a lot of insights into the world of business. Assar’s first hire was in the early 1900s in Gothenburg.

Assar’s talent got recognized by Bjorn Prytz in 1916, as Assar landed a job at the sales department of the SKF. Further down the line, on 20 June 1922, Assar’s hard work paid off as he was promoted to sales manager for the entire SKF company group.

SKF company was a great manufacturer for ball bearings. The company was the original holder of the brand name Volvo, fittingly to their steel ball-bearing company, the name represented ‘I roll’ in Latin.

Serendipity Forging a Legacy

The Volvo we all know today might have never happened if it wasn’t for a chance meeting in a Stockholm restaurant way back in 1924. On a hot August day, the economist and superior salesman Assar Gabrielsson met the talented engineer Gustav Larsson, possessing a vast background in engine designs.

While Assar was traveling around Europe, he saw a lot of pointers that the future would be all about the automobile industry. With many of the great investors around Europe funding automotive startups, Assar got to his original idea.

Bringing the Swedish heritage and design into a company that will produce the best cars out there was all that Assar had been working hard for. Assar brought up the idea to SKF board members. Unfortunately, the idea didn’t seem convincing enough to them, as the board members didn’t plan to get into the race in the automobile industry.

Even though luck struck out on Assar, he didn't give up on the idea. What's more, he wanted to produce ten prototype vehicles. Assar was confident that if these ten prototypes turned out great, he could go to the board members again and change their minds to help with the production.

At that time, SKF director Bjorn Prytz decided to have a chit-chat with Assar. Bjorn made Assar aware that he would gain the boards’ full support if Assar managed to keep his “personal project” aside and not interfere with his position as a manager of SKF.

Dedicated and self-assured, Assar took the leap of faith, planning and funding the startup for his outlined prototypes. Then, with the help of Gustav Larson, who shared the desire to build Sweden's finest car, the two started a remarkable journey.

From a Prototype to a Legendary Brand

Under the name of Jacob, the first Volvo prototype was assembled and personally driven to Stockholm by Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson. Through every terrain, the recognizable steel machine, bearing the now renowned Volvo logo arrived at SKF headquarters to be presented in 1927.

The Volvo AB, known as the ancestor of the Volvo we know now, was forged as its own company. Becoming a recognizable brand is owed to the company's early success, along with many other reasons.

The one circumstance that hit just right was the car’s durability, owing to the use of high-quality steel, a resource Sweden is known for. Also, because Volvo vehicles were far more resistant to harsh weather conditions, popularity soon followed.

Throughout the years, as the cars evolved, the key factor to Volvo’s success had to be the former engineer Nils Pauline. Thanks to Neil, countless lives were saved due to his revolutionary invention of the three-point safety belt design.

As Assar remembered, while he was growing up, every child he knew wanted to ride a car, but safety wasn't a priority back then.

Thanks to Volvo's second revolutionary invention— the first-ever rear-facing child seat— child-safety standards became a must for every car.

However, Volvo’s ingenuity didn’t cease with the child seat. Later on, the engineering masterminds at Volvo designed the world’s first booster cushion for children, reinventing child safety.

Volvo made it clear to the world what it stands for, and it showed everyone what car safety looks like. Due to Volvo's forward-thinking, the world couldn't wait long enough to get their hands on Volvo's steering wheel, parents especially.

In the Fastlane of Today

Volvo has gone a long way since its first inventions came out. Rewriting the future for a better tomorrow is their top priority. The company had clearly set its goals that by the year 2021, no one should die in a car accident while using Volvo’s new technology.

People’s safety, stability, modern design, comfort, simplicity, and environmental awareness is what makes Volvo stand out from their competition. Companies like Isuzu, Penske Automotive Group, and Daimler, among others, have served Volvo a fair share of competition, but revolutionary Volvo didn’t cave in.

Volvo’s headquarters are located in Gothenburg, Sweden, while Martin Lundstedt is the current CEO and President of the company. Having the most sophisticated workplaces with the most eco-friendly production, Volvo employs around 96,000 people worldwide.

Volvo features multiple production lines that have enriched the automotive industry, like busses, trucks, cars, and industrial engines. All of their products ooze high quality while emphasizing the safety guaranteed by this Swedish giant.

Thanks to Assar Gabrielsson’s private project, Sweden got placed on the world map because of the emergence of Volvo. The early struggles that Assar had to go through drove him into building the legendary legacy to the world, Volvo.

Going through thick and thin to bring his idea into motion, Assar made sure to not stumble on the way to success. Thanks to his brilliant side-project, as one of the board members labeled it, Assar gave Volvo to the world, and we are forever grateful.

Be on the lookout for more innovation coming from the world’s beloved Volvo!