Despite being home to two of the world’s best-known and largest truck manufacturers (Volvo AB and Scania AB), the Swedish automotive industry is focused on passenger transportation. It is distinguished by unrivaled quality and exceptional safety in passenger cars and buses. At the same time, the Swedish automotive industry is heavily dependent on foreign suppliers, with 95% of heavy equipment and 85% of passenger cars sold abroad. Among them are some exclusive brands. For example, Forbes magazine named the Koenigsegg CCXR supercar the most beautiful in the world. The Volvo concern earned a reputation as the manufacturer of the safest cars.
What are Swedish car brands?
Sweden has few car brands, but they are quite famous: Koenigsegg, Volvo, NEVS, Scania AB, Uniti Sweden AB, Polestar, and Caresto. This list previously included Saab, Jösse Car, and Scania-Vabis.
Koenigsegg
The Koenigsegg Group, founded by Christian von Koenigsegg in 1994, produces world-class supercars. Its headquarters are located in the town of Engelholm in Scania County. It will soon take over another Swedish brand, Saab Automobile, which is up for sale to General Motors. The company has already received written confirmation, and the deal is being negotiated.
This manufacturer has many technical merits that entitle it to call itself the best in its country. It pioneered the CC8S model, a sports car adapted for driving on ordinary roads, released in 2002. Another Koenigsegg car has attracted everyone’s attention. This is a representative of the CCXR series. Forbes marked it as the most attractive car in the world.
Volvo
It is one of the country’s oldest companies. It grew from a ball-bearing factory into a major automobile site. The company produces station wagons, SUVs, several types of sedans, hatchbacks, and luxury cars. Its founders, industrialists Gustav Larson and Assar Gabrielsson, founded it in 1927 in Gothenburg.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the parent company of the Geely Automobile brand, currently owns the Swedish brand. The transition was contingent on Volvo managing resources as before. However, talks of a full business merger began in 2020.
NEVS
This automaker was founded in 2012. It emerged from the assets and industrial plants of the bankrupt Saab. Evergrande Group owns the company, which has several locations: the head office is in Trollhättan (Sweden), and production sites are in Guangzhou (China) and Toronto (Ontario, Canada). The company’s name is an abbreviation of the phrase National Electric Vehicle Sweden. Its main specialization is electric vehicles.
Scania AB
Founded in 1891 by Gustaf Ericsson, this company was formerly known as AB Scania-Vabis. Its parent organization is the Volkswagen Group, located in Södertälje. The company manufactures heavy vehicles, buses, and diesel engines for trucks and marine vehicles.
Uniti Sweden AB
In the winter of 2016, Lewis Horn started Uniti, a company dedicated to implementing green technology and sustainability in the automotive industry. It began as a project at Lund University, then became a startup promoting high-tech urban transportation. They raised funds for the two-seater electric car through crowdfunding. In 2019, the company presented the technical specifications for the first low-cost production electric car with a 12 kW or 24 kW battery.
Polestar
Founded in 1996, Volvo Cars and its parent company, Geely, currently own the brand. The company is based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Electric cars and heavy-duty engines are produced under this brand. It also operates a laboratory and design office where it develops experimental technologies. The company produces the cars mainly in China.
Caresto
Leif Tufvesson founded this car brand, and it was officially registered in 2004. The company is located in Ängelholm, southern Sweden. It presents four models of the Hot Rod sports car developed by the company’s owner. Tufvesson worked at the Volvo Concept Center for six years, designing for Koenigsegg. In 2004, he received the Hot Rod of the Year Award and the American Most Innovative Car Award.
Saab
The full name of this Swedish company is Saab Automobile AB. It was founded in 1937. The company’s head office is in Trollhättan. This manufacturer’s branded cars were known for turbocharging, safety, and “green” technologies. Currently, the brand is mothballed and put up for sale. But since no one wanted to buy it outright, the entire property, including the intellectual property, is being sold as separate assets.
Jösse Car
The founders of the Swedish company Jösse Cars originally wanted to assemble cars from Saab and Volvo parts. The first model hit the market in 1996. It was a high-speed supercar that looked like a mix of a Corvette and an MGB. The manufacturer planned to produce 500 copies annually but went bankrupt in 1999 due to a lack of funds. Now, the brand Jösse Car belongs to Braun Holding AB. Its emblem is a rectangular blue shield with a white horse and the black inscription “JC.”
Scania-Vabis
The Scania-Vabis automobile brand was established in 1911 by two Swedish companies seeking to strengthen their position in a competitive market. Their first joint project was a bus. They later added cars and trucks to the range. Over time, the company reoriented entirely toward heavy-duty vehicles, but the Second World War prevented it from realizing its ambitious plans. In 1969, Scania-Vabis ceased to exist when it merged with Saab Automobile AB and became a subsidiary. During its years of independence, it used a blue emblem featuring a stylized wheel with a red griffin head and the gold inscription “SCANIA VABIS.”