Safety
Volvo cars have long been marketed as safe and the company has stressed its historic reputation for solidity and reliability in marketing campaigns. Volvo uses high-tech safety systems as standard equipment in new vehicles. Prior to strong government safety regulation Volvo had been at the forefront of safety engineering.
In 1944, laminated glass was introduced in the PV model. After Vattenfall engineers presented their pioneering work to Volvo in the 1950s, Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin invented and patented the modern three-point safety belt, which became standard on all Volvo cars in 1959, and then made this design patent open in the interest of safety and made it available to other car manufacturers for free. Additionally, Volvo developed the first rear-facing child seat in 1964 and introduced its own booster seat in 1978.
In 1991, the 960 introduced the first three-point seat belt for the middle of the rear seat and a child safety cushion integrated in the middle armrest. Also in 1991, it introduced the Side Impact Protection System (SIPS) on the 700, 940/960 and 850 models, which channels the force of a side impact away from the doors and into the safety cage.
In 1994, to add to its SIPS, Volvo was the first to introduce side airbags and installed them as standard equipment in all models from 1995. At the start of the 1995 model year, side impact protection airbags were standard on high trim-level Volvo 850s, and optional on other 850s. By the middle of the production year, they were standard on all 850s. In model year 1995, SIPS airbags became standard on all Volvo models.
In 1995, the Volvo 745 was recalled as the front seatbelt mounts could break in a collision.
In 1998, Volvo installed a head-protecting airbag, which was made standard in all new models as well as some existing models. The IC head-protecting airbag was not available on the 1997 C70 since the initial design deployed the airbag from the roof, and the C70, being a convertible, could not accommodate such an airbag. A later version of the C70 featured a head-protecting airbag deploying upwards from the door, avoiding this problem. It has been stated by many testing authorities that side head protecting curtain airbags can reduce the risk of death in a side impact by up to 40% and brain injury by up to 55%, as well as protect occupants during a rollover. In 1998, Volvo introduced its Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), a safety device to prevent injury to front seat users during collisions.
In 2002, Volvo pioneered the development of a virtual crash test dummy representing a midsized pregnant female. It was named Linda and was modeled in her 36th week of pregnancy to analyze the effects of high-speed impact on the womb, placenta, and fetus. Collaborating with Chalmers University of Technology, they also crafted a computer model of an average-sized female to advance its Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS).
In 2004, Volvo introduced the Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), which detects vehicles entering the vehicle's blind spot with a side-view-mirror-mounted camera, and alerts the driver with a light. That year also saw Volvos sold in all markets equipped with side-marker lights and daytime running lights. Also, since 2004 all Volvo models except for the coupes (C70 and C30) are available with an all-wheel drive system developed by Haldex Traction of Sweden.
In 2005, Volvo presented the second generation of Volvo C70, which came with extra stiff door-mounted inflatable side curtains (the first of its kind in a convertible) dubbed 'DMIC'.
Volvo's safety systems remained standard on all Volvo vehicles while under ownership of Ford Motor Company. Volvo had patented many of its safety innovations, including SIPS, WHIPS, ROPS, DSTC, and body structures. Some of these systems were fitted to other Ford and Premier Automotive Group vehicles in forms similar to those of Volvo systems.
A 2005 Folksam report put the 740/940 (from 1982 on) in the 15% better than average category for safety based on real-life accidents, coming second to the most-recommended 30% better than average category.
In 2005, when the American non-profit, non-governmental Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released its first annual "Top Safety Picks" vehicles list, none of Volvo's offered vehicles in the US were included on the list.
According to Russ Rader, a spokesman for IIHS, Volvo lagged behind its competitors. Dan Johnston, a Volvo spokesman, denied that the company's vehicles were any less safe than the institute's top-rated vehicles, adding that
It's just a philosophy on safety that is different from building cars to pass these kinds of tests.
In 2006, Volvo's Personal Car Communicator (PCC) remote control was launched as an optional feature with the all-new Volvo S80. Before a driver enters their car, they can review the security level and know whether they had set the alarm and if the car is locked. Additionally, a heartbeat sensor warns if someone is hiding inside the car. The S80 was also the first Volvo model to feature adaptive cruise control (ACC) with Collision Warning and Brake Support (CWBS).
In 2008, a French court found Volvo partially responsible for causing the death of two children and serious injuries of another in Wasselonne on 17 June 1999, when the brakes of a 1996 Volvo 850 failed. The court subjected Volvo to a €200,000 fine.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Volvo's S80 became one of the 2009 Top Safety Picks Award winners. The previous versions of the S40 and S60 models (2005–09 models with standard side airbags) failed to attain the highest rating in its side impact test. However, according to the IIHS, in recent years Volvo cars have still managed to maintain its high class safety ratings as seen in test results. The Volvo XC90, S80, C70, XC60, S60 and C30 are all rated Top Safety Picks in these crash tests. The 2014 models of the XC60, XC90, S60 and S80 have even received the Top Safety Pick+ rating. All Volvos tested in the small overlap test have received a 'good' rating.
Volvo has also scored high in Euro NCAP tests. Since 2009, all the Volvo models that Euro NCAP have tested have received five-star safety ratings: Volvo C30, V40, V60, V60 plug-in hybrid, XC60 and V70. The second generation Volvo V40 got the best test result of any car model ever tested by Euro NCAP at the time. As well the redesigned XC60 received the highest adult occupant score (98%) in 2017.
In the United States, Volvo paid $19.6 million in fines for missing its Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets for the 2010–2014 model years. In July 2017, Volvo announced that new models launched from 2019 onward would be fully electric or hybrid-electric, heralding the end of production of nearly a century of Volvo vehicles powered solely by the internal combustion engine. Volvo, however, will continue to produce non-electric, non-hybrid cars from models introduced before that year but will discontinue them once the non-hybrid, non-electric cars receive a facelift or complete redesign. In 2019, Volvo announced that it plans to produce only electrified cars from the year 2040 onwards.
In 2019, Volvo introduced the E.V.A. (Equal Vehicles for All) Initiative, which aims to share the results of research and safety development since 1970. This initiative's goal is to contribute to safer cars for everyone - regardless of gender and size. Due to the traditional use of male crash test dummies in safety tests, women face a higher risk of injury in car accidents. Volvo's Accident Research Team, however, has been collecting real-world collision data since the 1970s, ensuring representation for both men and women.
