Volvo was founded upon the concept of safety in 1927 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company was created as a subsidiary company 100% owned by SKF (Swedish: Svenska Kullagerfabriken). Assar Gabrielsson was appointed the managing director (CEO) and Gustav Larson as the technical manager.
The trademark Volvo (which is Latin for 'I roll') was first registered by SKF on 11 May 1915 with the intention to use it for a special series of ball bearing for the American market but it was never used for this purpose (however in the application for the trademark, it was also designated for the purpose of automobiles). The SKF trademark as it looks today was used instead for all the SKF-products. Some pre-series of Volvo-bearings stamped with the brand name 'Volvo' were manufactured but never released to the market, and it was not until 1927 that the trademark was used again, now as a trademark and company name for an automobile.
The first Volvo car left the assembly line on 14 April 1927, and was called Volvo ÖV 4. After this the young company produced closed top and cabriolet vehicles, which were designed to hold strong in the Swedish climate and terrain. In the registration application for Volvo logotype in 1927, they simply made a copy of the entire radiator for ÖV4, viewed from the front.