Volvo Factory Tour: Overseas Delivery Program

There’s something grand about Volvo. I’ve learned it from my year-long association with Volvo. But, the eye-opening tour to Volvo Factory was something that I can never forget. It all happened when I ordered my XC60 and experienced their Overseas delivery program. So, how was my Volvo factory tour?

Volvo USA and Canada offer you an overseas delivery program, under which I went to visit the Volvo factory during my purchase of the XC60. The amazing high-tech plant is in Gothenburg, Sweden. The tour consisted of a three-hour long visit to the factory, Volvo museum, and Other Volvo facilities.

There’s a lot more I have to share regarding this amazing tour. Let’s get started then!

Volvo Factory Tour: How It All Started With The Overseas Delivery Program

I have been involved with Volvo cars and Volvo operations in the United States for a long time now. During my purchase of the 2017 XC60, I got the golden opportunity to experience the Volvo overseas delivery program scheme.

I already had an idea of how it works. I told many of my clients from the community to avail of this program during their purchase also. So, what happens in this program is that You will order your Volvo car from an authorized dealer in the US and Canada.

Instead of receiving your car from the dealer, you get an opportunity to visit Gothenburg, Sweden, and receive the car from the Volvo facility. During this trip, you also get a temporary registration of your car in Europe for at least three months.

This allows you to reduce the import tax as the car will now be counted as a used one. Besides that, you get to experience the beautiful city of Gothenburg, with free airfare for two, a night stay in a high-end hotel, and a visit to the Volvo factory.

It felt like a dream come true and I had to grab this opportunity to visit the factory and Europe.

From California To The Torslanda Plant In Gothenburg, Sweden

So, my long cherished trip to Gothenburg began. Before my visit, I mailed the factory operating manager, with whom I have a strong bond and worked together for the Volvo community.

They provided me with two round-trip tickets and a free stay in Radisson Blu for that night. They were kind enough to take me from the airport to the hotel.

After enjoying my meal, I headed out to experience Gothenburg.

Gothenburg, The City Of Innovation And Charm

Gothenburg, the northern and the second largest city of Sweden did leave no stone unturned to amaze me. The city lights, the beautiful canals, and the cobblestones all together turned my night into a memorable one.

But, in my mind, there was only one thing I was waiting for, the factory visit.

Finally The Visit To The Oldest Volvo Plant: Receiving My XC60

The next morning, I left my hotel early for the Volvo factory in Torslanda. It was pretty close to downtown. Upon my arrival and verification at the front desk, two gentlemen, Antony and Jim accompanied me to the office where I was supposed to do some paperwork.

Then the operating officer took me to reveal and handed me over the car. The whole event was dramatic, the place itself was filled with beautiful lights, and the car was fully covered.

I would love to live the revealing moment over and over again. The scent of the beautiful XC60 was beyond any explanation. I had never seen a car that new before.

Image: Right Before Volvo Revealing The Car

The Factory Was A Definition Of Innovation And Technology

My eyes were tired of covering how big the actual plant was. It was founded in 1964, with an area of 450,000 square meters. The facility delivers more than 300,000 Volvo cars per year.

My factory tour began with 6 more couples and a guide in the tram, designed to show visitors their massive production plant.

Everything in that plant was a definition of modern technology and safety. Safety was the hallmark of Volvo, and I felt it in a literal sense during that visit.

It takes 36 hours for sheets of steel to transform into a car. The process begins with the best boron steels in the world and ends with the merge of the body with the chassis.

More than 6500 employees work together along with 1400 robotic arms in this plant. After finishing the 7 layers of painting, the car is then sent to the Safety testing unit.

The safety unit then tests the car over cobbles to balance the safety measures. The feeling of witnessing the verification of the safety of a car that you’re going to drive was assuring and I believe this is how Volvo connects their consumers with their products.

The Rest Of The Tour Was Amazing Too

After three long hours in the factory, I finally got down from the tram and went on to see the gift shop and their amazing museum.

I bought some souvenirs and entered the Volvo Museum.

Volvo Museum Felt Like Time-Travelling

I had the privilege to pay a visit to the amazing Volvo museum which is unfortunately closed now and shifted to a new exhibition plant called the ‘World of Volvo’.

The Volvo museum was a trip to memory lane and also my childhood. It has an amazing range of Volvo cars from history and their journey till date. It felt amazing to see the Volvo 1800 driven by Sir Roger Moore in a TV show, the Volvo PV56 from 1938, the Volvo Mark, and the Volvo PV 544 from 1965.

The legendary Volvo 262 and Volvo 200 were also on display, approximately 2.8 million units of this car was sold. The transition of Volvo from being a hallmark of safety to a combination of luxury and innovation and finally stepping into the world of hybrid and electric cars was visible right in front of my eyes.

Image: Volvo PV56 in the Volvo Museum.

Ending My Beautiful Trip To Gothenburg

The beautiful tour to Gothenburg came to an end the next day. It was a warm sunset over the canals of the city. After my final meal in a charming restaurant in Gothenburg, I headed out for Stockholm on my brand-new XC60.

I visited 6 cities in Europe with this car during that time and an authorized dealer then sent it to California with some extra charges.

Image: Nightlife In Gothenburg

Conclusion

Volvo is never about the car only. It’s the experience and the emotional connection that they want you to get from this association. That’s what makes them different from other automobile giants.

So, if you’re thinking of getting a new Volvo, I’d suggest you get it from an authorized dealer. It’ll always be an everlasting memory and might be an opportunity for you to fulfill your dream of visiting Europe.