Swedish iron was the foundation of Volvo, and the iron symbol has been displayed on the front of its cars and trucks since the first vehicle rolled out the factory doors 80 years ago.

From the very start, the symbol was reinforced by the Volvo logotype placed on a blue panel, along with a diagonal attachment bar.
Volvo's first passenger car, which was unveiled on April 14, 1927, featured a smart logotype at the very front of the hood. The text "Volvo Gothenburg Sweden" stood in white, gold-framed letters on a blue background panel. The word "Volvo" was in Egyptienne typeface.
It was redesigned during the 1950s by a Swedish typographer appointed to the royal court. From the very outset, the grille also featured a symbol, a ring with an arrow pointing offset to the top right. This is one of man's oldest ideograms, which in the Roman Empire was used to signify the planet Mars. In Sweden this symbol has been used to signify iron processing, and when Volvo was founded, Swedish iron was widely regarded as far superior to that produced by other countries - it radiated strength and dependability.
In order to be able to attach the chrome-plated iron symbol to the grille, a diagonal bar was fitted from the top right to the bottom left corner. This bar was thus a practical solution to a very real need, but as a decorative element it has come to be what is perhaps the strongest and most evocative of Volvo's symbols. Whenever a Volvo truck is seen on a road anywhere in the world, the diagonal bar immediately identifies the truck as a Volvo.
The Volvo badge has graced all Volvo products throughout the past 80 years and the blue backing panel has been used occasionally. In the early 1930s, a winged symbol was used for a short while to denote the largest trucks in the company's range. During certain periods, the iron mark and the diagonal bar have not been used at all. Since the introduction of the Volvo F10/F12 in 1977, however, all three symbols have graced all Volvo's trucks. The various symbols are occasionally revised and updated, but they are always there together.
Today's communication symbol is the iron mark with the "VOLVO" word mark placed in the middle. It has developed into one of the world's best-known and most easily recognisable trademarks.
Ever since AB Volvo sold the Volvo Car Corp. to Ford Motor Co., the trademark has continued to be used by both companies. The trademark has been placed in a holding company, Volvo Trademark Holding AB, jointly owned by Volvo and Ford. The company's executive management determines how the name is to be used and the contexts in which its use is permitted.