The Future of Safety: The Story of Volvo

On Monday June 10, we were incredibly fortunate to visit Volvo Cars where we learned the history of Volvo and their current business outlook with the VP of human resources. Afterwards, we were given an in-depth walking tour of the safety features of Volvo cars and how their future plans would lead to their grand intent of 0 major injuries/deaths by the year 2020. Next, the entire group went on a tram tour through the their factories to see how their vehicles went from over 12,000 different parts to one fully assembled vehicle. Finally, we were given the opportunity to test drive select Volvo cars ranging from sedans/coupes, station wagons, SUV’s and even a convertible model on an empty track and personally vouch for their standards for safety in their vehicles. From this visit, it was clear that Volvo is going above and beyond the necessary steps in ensuring that their product stands separate among the rest of their competition in terms of safety and reliability.

One of Volvo’s numerous mottos posted inside the walls of their building that accurately describes their company culture simply states that they “create cars that understand people.” This quote embodies how they work to continuously improve their cars in the same fashion that humans continue to evolve over time with our new technologies and ways of thinking. For the most part, cars are considered inorganic objects that we use for transportation purposes everyday. However, Volvo makes the connection between the car and the driver in the sense that they complement one another. Volvo continues to add safety features ahead of their competition while simultaneously pushing for more attractive qualities in their vehicles. As the distractions for drivers continue to exist over time and even possibly worsen, Volvo understands the growing need for driver’s safety. Even if the driver is careful and patient enough to create a safe driving environment, they do not have control over the external factors that could affect them. Volvo believes in trusting their driver with the right tools placed in their cars so that they are able to limit the factors that would affect them reaching their destination. No matter the situation or attitude of the driver, the bottom line of Volvo is that their cars will create a safer environment for you and others on the road not only for today’s world but also the future.