Volvo is 75 years old

In Malaysia today, there are at least 30 different makes of cars from various countries in Europe and Asia. However, only a handful can lay claim to having been around in the 1960s and among them is Volvo which can be said to have contributed to the ‘motorisation’ of the country when it made its appearance in 1963.

The Swedish company was founded 36 years earlier but it was only in the early 1960s that two businessmen from Penang went to Gothenburg – Volvo’s home city in southern Sweden – to place orders for the Amazon model. The older executives in Volvo still remember how they were surprised to find customers from such a distant country who helped introduce their products to the young southeast Asian country. Not only that but they also participated in establishing the country’s first assembly plant (Swedish Motor Assemblies) in 1967 to assemble the Swedish cars locally, in response to the government’s call to initiate such activities.

Four decades later, the make is no longer a ‘government servant’s car’ but has moved upmarket into the luxury sector (the only ‘government servants’ who use them are the police and the most senior ministry officials). The same company that imported the first Volvos – Federal Auto – still sells them and as an indication of the importance of this market, Volvo has also become directly involved in marketing activities.

To celebrate Volvo’s 75th anniversary, Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) has lined up a number of activities and the kick-off took place with a special press event at its head office in Kuala Lumpur on Friday night.

The highlight was the unveiling of a series of cartoons which had the theme of Volvo’s presence in the changing Malaysian landscape and society. The company had invited specially commissioned the country’s best-known cartoonist – Lat – for the project and appropriately, he was the guest-of-honour at the event.

Apart from the fact that Lat – Dato’ Mohd Nor Khalid – has humourously depicted social and political changes in our country for decades, he also has a special affection for Volvo. This is because it was the first car he owned and he really loved it.

“As an artist, I appreciated the styling and it had size, space and was a safe car,” he recalled. He said that, in the 1960s, he saw his teachers driving the 122S model to school and aspired to own one, a goal which he achieved when he worked at the New Straits Times.

For Volvo Car Malaysia, Lat did six cartoons, each of which features a Volvo model. Only two are classics – the 122S and P1800 – while the others are in the current range. However, the cars are shown against backgrounds which depict the progress of Malaysia and the ‘muhibbah’ spirit that has enabled us to grow up in a peaceful environment.

The cartoons will be on display at a special Volvo 75th Anniversary Exhibition at MidValley MegaMall in Kuala Lumpur from April 24 to May 5 2002. At this exhibition – which will probably be the largest in the shopping mall to date because it will cover a lot of floor area – visitors will also see some of the classic models from the past, the highly desirable current offerings – as well as glimpse into what will come.

“We will also have a virtual presentation of the award-winning Volvo Safety Concept Car as well as the all-new SUV, the XC90,” revealed Pang Cheong Yan, Marketing Director of VCM. “Our design philosophy will also be explained in a 12-minute film with Volvo’s Chief designer, Peter Horbury, acting as narrator.”