Did you know that.....Autoliv has its roots in the small town of Vårgårda in Sweden?

Here, the brothers Lennart and Stig Lindbland founded a small auto company in 1953. It didn’t do that well, and the brothers went their separate ways.

Lennart, however, was convinced that he wanted to work as a subcontractor in the car industry and started manufacturing seat belts. It was his concern for his wife’s safety that led Lennart to take an interest in safety belts.

For the first belt he used a neck collar for bulls, which he combined with an industry sewn belt made from the strongest woven nylon from a local weaver.

Image: Lennart (left) & Stig (right) Lindblad, 1978.

Did you know that.....in a way, Autoliv’s roots go all the way back to 1937?

This is the year when the aluminum manufacturer Wedaverken was founded. One (presumably) fine day in 1965, the two engineers and inventors Karlsson and Swahn knocked on the door.

They had a background in the aerospace industry and had taken out a patent for a belt retractor (a reeling device for seatbelts), 

In the future, Wedaverken and Autoliv would belong to the same group – Gränges – in which their products complemented each other. 

Image: Gränges Weda’s retractor in 1977.

Did you know that.....the American company Morton ASP constitutes a cornerstone of today’s Autoliv?

The two companies merged in 1997.

Like Autoliv, Morton ASP has a long and exciting history. The company was part of a larger chemical business group, which began manufacturing rocket fuel in the mid-1900s.

With this operation as a foundation, they later commenced the development of airbags – an area of business in which Morton ASP became a pioneer.

Image: Space Shuttle SRB (Shuttle Rocket Booster) from Thiokol, 1977. In 1982, Thiokol merged with Morton and became Morton Thiokol Inc. In 1989 Morton Thiokol split into two companies: Thiokol Inc and Morton.

Did you know that.....Lennart Lindblad’s brother Stig started a new company after they went their separate ways?

The company was called Stil-Industrier (Stil after Stig’s initials) and made metal components for the belts Lennart produced. The brothers worked in close collaboration, and Stig’s work and inventiveness were extremely important for the development of Autoliv. Stig liked taking great risks, while Lennart was more cautious. Their brother Karl-Erik also started working for Stil-Industrier. He had an important role in the company due to his ability to develop new tools needed for production. A fourth brother, Sven-Olof, also worked for the company. Stil-Industrier was the larger of the two companies – which became mutually dependent.

Image: Inside Stil-Industris facilities in Vårgårda. Ca 1970’s.

Did you know that.....the first self-driving car was tried out by Autoliv as early as in the end of the 1990s?

Of course, it had its flaws, but the vision was there.

It took a couple of years, however, until Autoliv seriously began working with the technique that came to be known as “active safety”, i.e., the system that prevents accidents from happening.

Passive safety, on the other hand, refers to the system which protects the passengers in a vehicle in the event of a crash.

Image: Example of passive security for people outside the vehicle. W.d

Did you know that.....Autoliv Inflator, Autoliv’s factory for gas generators in Vårgårda, developed the method of inflating air bags with hydrogen, which is both more environmentally friendly and cheaper than previous technologies?

This new technology would enable material weights to be decreased by 20%.

By filling the airbag with hydrogen and oxygen, which together create a chemical reaction, and compressed inert gas, inflation is as fast as with explosives and the only residual product is a small amount of water.

In other words, there are no ash particles or residual gases, as with other methods.

Image: Modern airbags in the frontseat. W.d.

Did you know that.....one of the pioneers in seatbelts was the Swedish state-owned power company Vattenfall?

In the early 1950s, the company began to react to the fact that more people were killed in traffic accidents than in occupational accidents. Vattenfall had previously investigated falls from utility poles, which led to them beginning to develop safety gear.  However, as their employees used cars for work purposes, Vattenfall began investigating that as well, which led to the development of a model of the two-point seatbelt “Typ Vattenfall,” which Lindblads Autoservice received a license to manufacture. 

Image: Klippan & Swedish brand Vattenfalls S-Belt, made of terylene. W.d

Did you know that.....Lennart Lindblad’s first patent was for a rather simple expander bolt?

It could be attached to the car’s B-pillar. With time, more patents and inventions followed.

In 2016, he was awarded the Polhem Prize for his work on developing and refining the seatbelt.

The Polhem Prize is Sweden’s oldest award for technological innovation and is awarded by Engineers of Sweden.

Image: Lennart Lindblad is rewarded the Polhem prize, 2016.

Did you know that.....Renault was the first big client for the seatbelts manufactured by Lindblads Autoservice (later Autoliv)?

Lennart Lindblad was tipped off by a former competitor in the automotive retail industry, who also connected the two companies.

Lennart Lindblad went to Stockholm and met with Renault, which later placed a test order for 4,000 seatbelts.

Manufacturing then had to move from Lennart Lindblad’s grandmother’s attic to more suitable facilities.

Image: Lindblads Autoservice in an exhibition for cars, 1962.

Did you know that.....Lindblads Autoservice was far from the only company in Sweden that invested in seatbelts in the 1950s and 1960s?

Others were Bröderna Ottoson & Co in Klippan, later known as “Klippangruppen,” which started manufacturing two-point belts for Vattenfall in their saddlery in 1956.

Evert Larsson Industri in Kungälv entered the picture in 1963.

Different companies had tackled the flaws associated with two-point belts (the driver could slide out) with different ideas on three-point belts inspired by the aerospace industry.

This company delivered the actual belts to Volvo when, in 1963, the car company made seatbelts a standard feature throughout their production.

Image: Autoflug in Rellingen, Germany year 1972. Autoflug was later acquired by Autoliv.

Did you know that.....Volvo was a pioneer in introducing seatbelts, especially three-point belts, as a standard feature in its cars?

Nils Bohlin was an engineer at Volvo who developed the seatbelt – but it wasn’t Volvo that came up with the actual concept.

It already existed. The surgeon Stig Lindgren in Falun, who had previously been a medical advisor to the Vattenfall safety team that developed the “Typ Vattenfall” seatbelt, also played an important role in Volvo’s initiative.

As a surgeon, he’d come across many examples of the consequences of traffic accidents.

Volvo, alongside the other Swedish car company, Saab, had a big part in giving Sweden a clear lead in car safety.

Image: Autoliv & Klippans 3 anchorbelts in two models. The Giugiaro line was like Noramale, except for being made of expensive fabric with special modern lines.

Did you know that.....Lennart Lindblad, seeing the risks involved in people sliding under two-point belts, was an early proponent of the three-point seatbelt?

However, Bröderna Ottosson & Co in Klippan applied for a patent for the three-point belt in 1957 and received the go-ahead in 1961. This patent was invalidated in 1965, though, when Lindblads Autoservice was able to show that Saab’s rally cars had used three-point belts prior to Bröderna Ottosson submitting their application.

Image: Klippan and the Ottosson brother’s harness belt, made in 1953. Klippan was later merged with Autoliv.

Did you know that..... Lennart Lindblad changed the name of his company from Lindblad Autoservice to Autoliv in the 1960s?

Yet the word “liv” (English: life) didn’t have anything to do with “life,” as one might think. He had previously used the abbreviation LIV (Lindblad’s in Vårdgårda) in certain marketing.

Image: Autolivs threepointbelt, Ca 1960’s.

Did you know that..... Lennart Lindblad had a pilot’s license and owned an airplane?

On his business trips between Vårgårda and the companies in Germany, he flew the airplane himself.

Interestingly, he’d bought the airplane from the Swedish boxing world champion Ingemar “Ingo” Johansson – who’d won the world title in 1959 after a match against Floyd Patterson.

Image: Lennart Lindblad’s airplane Piper Aztec SE-EOG, 1972.

Did you know that..... Lennart Lindblad sold his company Autoliv to Gränges Weda in 1975?

Gränges Weda was part of the large Gränges Group, which for many years had been a dominant iron ore producer but had by that point evolved into a conglomerate of industries operating in “non-ferrous metals.”

In 1969, Gränges brought Weda into the group through its acquisition of Svenska Metallverken.

Weda manufactured a retractor for seatbelts – the so-called Essem roll – and so Autoliv’s operations became a strategic complement.

Image: The famous ”Essemrullen” retractor, 1967.

Did you know that.....car safety wasn’t really on the agenda in the USA until the 1960s?

In 1965, the young lawyer Ralph Nader published the international bestseller Unsafe at any Speed, which became best known for its criticism of the Chevrolet Corvair.

But Nadar also attacked America’s view on safety as a whole. This attack changed the car companies’ risk assessments, which realized that strict product liability and large fines could be in the pipeline.

The insurance companies also took an interest in the matter. It was said that car accidents cost society $50 billion a year.

In 1966, the US Congress decided to establish a new agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which would take responsibility for the situation.

Image: Pictured is Ralph Nader. W.d.

Did you know that.....the aerospace industry was a pioneer in seatbelts?
Affected by the high numbers of collisions, fatalities and injuries, the responsible agencies initiated serious biomechanical research, for example CIR (Crash Injury Research), at Cornell University north of New York. Here, the first study on seatbelts for pilots was published in 1953.

The findings attracted a lot of attention.

Image: Unknown stuntman participating in Klippan Seatbelt Promotion in Germany, 1966. Klippan was later merged with Autoliv.

Did you know that.....the Hungarian-born engineer and inventor Béla Baréntýi is often called the “father of passive safety”?
He was the first to draw attention to the importance of car structure for crash safety. He came up with the concepts of “deformation zone” (as early as the 1930s), the “collapsible steering column” and the “non-deformable passenger cell,” which all contributed to better protection.

In 1994, Baréntýi was elected to the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Image: Klippan Seatbelt Promotion in Germany, 1965. Klippan was later merged with Autoliv.

Did you know that.....even though seatbelts could prevent so many injuries and accidents, many people chose not to use them?

One of the reasons for this was that people felt that seatbelts limited their mobility. For instance, it was difficult to reach the glove compartment while strapped in. These problems led to a new invention – the retractable seatbelt.

In 1964, British Britax and Klippan GmbH (Swedish Klippan Group’s German subsidiary) had already developed a belt with a retractor that was activated when the brakes were applied sharply.

British Kangol had a similar belt tensioner in the works. Around the same time, Nyhems Mekaniska in the Swedish city of Halmstad launched a retractor called Safe.

Image: Klippan & Britax own retractor, year model 1964.

Did you know that.....in a strategic plan for 1972, Gränges expressed the ambition to become a leading and turnkey manufacturer of automatic belts in Scandinavia, with a significant position in England and West Germany?

The strategy failed, however, and instead, Grängess acquired the belt manufacturer Autoliv in Vårgårda in 1975 in order to become a real seatbelt company and full-service supplier.

5000 retractors, the so-called Essem roll, were already being delivered to the company, which represented 5 percent of the entire production.

Image: Inside the facilities of Autolivs own seatbelt production, 1975 – 1976.

Did you know that.....Autoliv was once part of the international home appliance group Electrolux?

In 1980, Electrolux acquired the entire Gränges Group, which included Autoliv.

But Autoliv was given a very independent role in the group, where the company was a rather odd element.

Image: 9 years later the company arranged an exposition in Europe. Photographer unknown.

Did you know that.....Autoliv grew quickly in the late 1970s through acquisitions?

Revenue increased by over 60 percent in six years.

One of these acquisitions was of the French company AMCA, which increased Autoliv’s market share on the French market from 10 to 16 percent.

Image: Making steering wheels in a French facility, ca 1970’s. Photographer unknown.

Did you know that.....it was only after acquiring competitor Evert Larsson Industri in 1979 that Autoliv managed to gain a foothold with the Swedish vehicle manufacturer Volvo?

Before this, Autoliv’s customers were foreign carmakers.

Image: This is how Volvos’s own V-type safety belt looked like in 1959.

Did you know that.....Gunnar Bark, the man behind Autoliv’s major advancements in the 1980s and 1990s, started his career as a research engineer at the Swedish National Defence Research Institute?

He later served no less than three terms as President and CEO of Autoliv.

Image: Gunnar Bark in 1997, the year of the merger between Autoliv and Morton ASP.

Did you know that.....Autoliv set up an Advisory Board in 1984?

The Board still exists today. Members of the Advisory Board included the world-renown surgeon and professor of traffic safety Bertil Aldman, as well as other Swedish and foreign experts and researchers in traffic safety, automotive engineering and biomechanics (i.e., what forces the human body can withstand).

Image: The Advisory Board, 1999.

Did you know that.....the great European expansion began at the start of the 1980s?

Autoliv gradually became the leading supplier in Europe, capturing nearly half of the market.

Acquisitions included companies in Spain, Italy, Finland and England.

The company also tried to make acquisitions in the US but lost in bidding wars with competitors.

Image: The structure of the company, 1987.

Did you know that.....Autoliv established a test center in Dachau, Germany in 1990?

This was an important request from BMW. The German master engineer Dieter Schaper, who had previously worked at both Daimler and Opel, was affiliated with this test center.

Schaper later developed a special type of side airbag, the “weisswurst.”

Image: Volvo Eurobag package from 1987. Photographer unknown.

Did you know that.....Autoliv developed its very own type of airbag in the early 1990s?

It was called the Eurobag, and was a smaller airbag than the American version, which was designed to be used along with a seatbelt – the standard in Europe.

Key components of the Eurobag included the Euroflator and a revolutionary fully woven cushion. Both of these innovations were developed by Autoliv subsidiaries.

Eurobag led to a dramatic increase in Autoliv’s airbag sales within just a couple of years.

Image: Electrolux-Autoliv "Eurobag passenger module" - 1993; 60 liter passenger airbag

Did you know that.....Electrolux was well on its way to selling Autoliv to the large American corporation AlliedSignal?

This was after the success of Eurobag in the early 1990s. Autoliv management didn’t find the deal particularly attractive, though, and it never went through.

Image: Inside the Electrolux/Autoliv/Klippan facility in 1990. Picture taken from the Electrolux Autoliv magazine.

Did you know that.....Autoliv started up manufacturing in Mexico in the early 1990s?

Together with the Japanese company NSK, Autoliv formed a joint venture – NSK-Autoliv – which built a factory in Tijuana.

Production started in September 1991 and was focused on motorized automotive seatbelts for the American market. 

Image: The factory in Tijuana. Picure taken 2013. Photographer unknown.

Did you know that.....the reason Thiokol (which later became Morton Thiokol) ended up in Utah was because the unpopulated deserts of this US state were perfect for rocket testing?

One fine day in the mid-1950s, representatives for the company arrived in the state to explore its possibilities. The young farmer’s son Ken Holmgren knew that there was only one tavern on the road between Promontory and Brigham City where the travelers could be expected to stop. He went there to meet them, and the rest is history.

Thiokol set up in the area and Holmgren eventually became President of the company and then CEO for Morton Thiokol when the two companies merged.

Image: Promontory area in the US. Picture taken between 1990 and 1994. Photographer unknown.

Did you know that.....Morton Thiokol was already a dominating manufacturer of gas generators for airbags by the start of the 1970s?

The development of gas generators was rooted in the company’s history in rocket fuel. This evolved into the manufacturing of entire airbags.

In 1989, the company split into two separate parts, with Morton ASP focusing on the automotive safety market.

Image: The pyrotechnical component inside the airbag. Picture taken 2014. Photographer unknown.

Did you know that.....Morton’s success on the Japanese market was largely due to its Mormon employees?

There were a lot of well-educated and language-savvy men in Utah who had studied the Japanese language and culture during their missions.

These key characteristics gave the company a big competitive advantage. 

Image: Employees in Utah, 1994. Photographer unknown.

Did you know that.....Autoliv was listed on the stock exchange on June 9, 1994?

With this, the company left the Electrolux Group and became an independent enterprise.

The majority of the new owners were foreign asset managers. They had made a good purchase – the stock rose 60 percent in the first year. 

Image: This commercial picture was published the same year Autoliv was introduced on the stock market, 1994. Photographer unknown.

Did you know that.....Autoliv’s engineers presented an all-new innovation to their customer Mercedes in May 1995?

The invention was due in part to the findings of the research conducted by Autoliv’s research director Yngve Håland on side-impact collisions.

The innovation, which provides specific protection against impacts from the side, was called the “Inflatable Curtain” and was a tremendous success.

It has saved many lives, prevented serious injuries and played a huge role in Autoliv’s future developments.

Image: Yngve Håland with the prototype of the ”Inflatable Curtain.” Picture taken in the 1990’s. Photographer: Lennart Rehnman.

Did you know that.....a female civil engineer was one of the driving forces in Autoliv’s manufacturing system?

It was in the late 1990s that Lisa Frary worked to introduce the so-called Toyota Model at Autoliv. 

Toyota loaned out their expert Takahashi Harada to Autoliv for several years.

Image: Lisa Frary, in the 1990’s.

Did you know that.....when Autoliv and Morton ASP merged in 1997, it was an unusually successful merger?

The employees in Utah and Europe found it easy to work together – and to do so cohesively as a team.

Image: The construction of the Morton International HYGE Impact Sled Facility, 1991.

Did you know that.....there was an aggressive squeeze on prices at the end of the 1990s from Autoliv’s competitors?

One task for the new CEO Lars Westerberg was to lower costs. This led to production being gradually moved to low-cost countries, where high quality could still be maintained.

Image: Former CEO Lars Westerberg, 1999.

Did you know that.....Steering wheels became an important product in the early 2000s?

Customers wanted a complete system in which the airbags were already integrated into the steering wheels. Autoliv therefore made several acquisitions in the area.

Image: An example of a steering wheel with an already built-in airbag in the steering wheel, ca 2006.

Did you know that.....Electronics became an increasingly important area in the late 1990s and early 2000s?

Among other things, Autoliv initiated a collaboration with Swedish company Combitech, a subsidiary of Saab, and acquired French company Sagem.

Image:The final product of a Saab 9000 airbag, 1991.

Did you know that.....Autoliv began manufacturing in China as early as the mid-1980s?

But it wasn’t until the early 2000s that this really took off. The webbing factory in Shanghai was the largest in the world at that time.

Image: The Autoliv staff just outside the facility in Nanjing, Shanghai, 1990.

Did you know that.....Autoliv was hit hard by the 2008–2009 financial crisis?

The company was forced to lay off about 25 percent of its personnel. But the company was able to recover relatively quickly.

Image: The new CEO had the difficult task of drastically cutting staff in order to create a sustainable long-term future.

Did you know that.....during Lars Westerberg’s time as CEO, Autoliv became what was probably Sweden’s most globalized company ever?

The company had 53 percent of sales in Europe, 24 in North America and the remaining 23 percent in the rest of the world. 

More than half of production was now located in countries such as Mexico, China and Romania.

Image: The Autoliv facility in Hungary, 2021.

Did you know that.....Autoliv was already a global leader in the new area of active safety by the 1990s?

The company presented a range of products, such as electronic systems that oriented the car on the map or detected far-off hazards using radar. 

The first ‘self-driving’ car was already being tested by Autoliv by the late 1990s.

Image: The PSS1 is an example of an electrical safety solution. In case of a car crash, it can be triggered by the airbag control device or BMS to protect passengers and/or rescuers. These have been used since 2004. There are now more modern models as well. Photo from 2017.

Did you know that.....after the turn of the millennium, Japan became an increasingly important market for Autoliv?

And becoming “Big in Japan” happened surprisingly quickly for the company, which soon had 20 percent of the market there and a good portion of the vehicles that the Japanese sold worldwide. 

Japanese manufacturers accounted for 35 percent of global production.

Image: Testing facilities are vital for production development. This is a testing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, 2022.

Did you know that.....Mexico has the most Autoliv employees of any country in the world?

In the 2000s, a number of factories were built in the country. 

In 2022, Autoliv had over 15,000 employees in Mexico. 

Romania came in at second with about 10,000 employees and China in third place with just under 9,000.

Image: The Autoliv facility in Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico, 2021.

Did you know that.....Autoliv got its first female board member in 2011?

This was Dr. Xiaozhi Liu, who was born in China but has advanced technical degrees from Germany and a long career in the global automotive industry behind her, primarily at General Motors.

Image: Dr. Xiaozi Liu, 2022.

Did you know that.....Autoliv carried out one of its key acquisitions for the future during the 2008–2009 financial crisis?

This was the radar sensor division within the American electronics corporation Tyco Electronics.

Image: A hood lift is used during the impact of a car crash. To raise the bonnet edge decreases impact with the structures inside the hood and thus reduces head injuries. Pictured is a hood lifter 2, from 2008. When the bonnet edge rises, the impact on the structure inside the hood decreases and thus the head injuries.
 

Did you know that.....One way to ensure quality – while simultaneously reducing costs – has been to standardize the manufacturing processes?

This is why in 2013, Autoliv introduced what is called 1P1P: one product, one process. A shining example of this is the propellant factory in Jiangsu, China, which is exactly the same as the one in Promontory, Utah.

Image: Propellant factory in Utah, 2019

Did you know that.....when Autoliv built a new propellant factory in China in 2013, it was exactly the same as the one in Promontory?

Autoliv used the same suppliers, the same drawings, and the exact same layout as that factory. One key success factor was the transfer of technology and knowledge between employees in Promontory and China. This was also Autoliv’s biggest investment up to that point.

Image: A pleased group at the 2013 inauguration of the Jiangsu propellant factory.

Did you know that.....The automotive industry made a major comeback in 2011 after the 2008–2009 recession?

72 million units were manufactured that year, which was a record. It was also Autoliv’s best year to date.

Image: During the 2010s, Autoliv invested heavily in product development. Here, two employees in Utah are testing a seat belt’s durability/resistance.

Did you know that.....as electronics became increasingly important in the early 2000s, a number of acquisitions were made in this area?

The first came in 2002 with the acquisition of Visteon Restraint Electronic – a spin-off from Ford.

Image: The PSS1, or ”Battery Disconnection Switch”, is triggered by the ECU and is used to separate the "starter generator cable" from the electronic system.

Did you know that.....Autoliv needed more capital from its owners to save the business during the 2008–2009 recession?

In the long run, this meant that more Autoliv shares came to be owned by Swedish companies, and fewer by American companies.

Image: During the 2008–2009 recession Autoliv developed a new concept of cooperation.

Did you know that.....Autoliv Americas suffered quality issues after the 2008–2009 recession?

This prompted then CEO Jan Carlsson to initiate the Q5 quality concept. It was about looking at quality in five key dimensions, symbolized by a five-pointed star. These points represented the organization’s own behavior, growth, customers, products and suppliers. An extensive training and information drive was launched to implement the program.

Image: The quality concept Q5, visualized as a five-pointed star.

Did you know that.....one way to ensure quality – while simultaneously reducing costs – has been to standardize the manufacturing processes?

This is why in 2013, Autoliv introduced what is called 1P1P: one product, one process. A shining example of this is the propellant factory in Jiangsu, China, which is exactly the same as the one in Promontory, Utah.

Image: Propellant factory in Utah, 2019

Did you know that.....The first side airbags began to be supplied in Volvo 850s in 1994?

This made Volvo the first in the world to offer this innovation. The side airbags also proved to be a huge sales success. By 2012, Autoliv had supplied half a billion airbags of this type.

Image: Ad photo for side air bags, from 1994.

Did you know that.....in 2012, a doomsday atmosphere once again prevailed in the European automotive industry – just four years after the big financial crisis?

Almost all automakers scaled back production or closed down European plants. Autoliv also cut down on production but was still able to increase sales thanks to its global presence.

Image: A visual representation of Autolivs’ global presence and market advantage, from the 1990s or early 2000s.

Did you know that.....in the mid-1990s, Autoliv developed a new propellant that did not contain the environmentally hazardous substance sodium azide?

The same basic mixture that was developed then is still used today.

Image: Inflator concept from early 2000s

Did you know that.....the steering wheel production took off in Tunisia in the early 2000s when customer demand for leather-covered steering wheels increased?

Customers in Asia wanted steering wheels with thick stitching to accentuate the aesthetics of the leather, while Germans instead wanted completely smooth steering wheels.

Image: Design preferences differ between countries. In Asia, they want stitches in the leather, as shown in this 2022 picture. 

Did you know that.....a strong driving force in Autoliv’s turnover is that the safety content per vehicle (CPV) is increasing?

And it is increasing in all regions of the world. In 2012, the value of the safety content in Indian vehicles totaled about 60 US dollars. Ten years later, it was 100 US dollars. North America topped the list in 2022 with an average CPV value of 400 US dollars.

Image: Autoliv India opened new facilities in 2016 – and celebrated with a Ground Breaking Ceremony. 

Did you know that.....when Autoliv was going to move production from the United Kingdom to Turkey, many employees came over from Turkey for a few months to learn the business?

When the line later moved to Turkey, many English employees came along as coaches. People still talk about the Turks and Englishmen who have kept in touch ever since.

Image: Cooperation is key across all Autoliv units. Here we are in Utah. 

Did you know that.....Autoliv’s head offices are still located in Stockholm, even though the company has most of its business in other countries across the globe?

That the head offices are located on so-called neutral ground is considered an advantage.

Image: Inflatable Curtain exhibition in Autoliv’s head office in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Did you know that.....A record number of cars – 92 million – were manufactured in 2017?

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a dramatic dip in the curve that had been gradually rising for many years. For Autoliv, organic sales dropped by 12 percent in 2020.

Image: The COVID-19 pandemic brought a dramatic dip in the curve that had been gradually rising for many years. For Autoliv, organic sales dropped by 12 percent in 2020.

Did you know that.....there is a fully automated production line for inflatable curtains in Romania that is operated by industrial robots?

Image: In 2021, Autoliv's CEO Mikael Bratt (left) and Chairman Jan Carlson (left) buried a time capsule outside the Romanian factory.

Did you know that.....Autoliv made a large and popular investment for personnel in China during the country’s extensive lockdown?

Employees were offered the chance to live on the company’s campus, where they could be outside in the fresh air and have more normal social interaction than they would being confined in their apartments.

Image: Chinese employees preparing for the lockdown.

Did you know that.....Autoliv spun off operations in the area of Electronics in 2018?

This is when the company Veoneer was formed. The areas within active safety and passive safety had become far too different from each other. Developments in active safety also required a lot of capital and managerial focus, which influenced developments in passive safety.

Image: A picture from Autoliv’s annual report 2017 illustrated the spin-off of the electronics operation, which became Veoneer.