Volvo PV 444

During WW II it was decided at Volvo that the peace would be greeted with a small, cheap car, a car that ordinary people could afford to buy. For a start though all resources were busy constructing and building vehicles for military service.
In May 1943 the work with the new little car started. Responsible for the project was Erik Jern and Helmer Pettersson, they decided after some considerations to build a conventional car, but without a separate frame, a unibody. It was the first unibody construction at Volvo, in order to study the construction a 1939 Hanomag was bought.

They worked swiftly at Volvo and already on September 1 1944 the first prototype was ready to be shown to the public. Volvo showed the car at a big exhibition at the Kungliga Tennishallen in Stockholm, where Volvo workers had been brought with a chartered train from Gothenburg. At that exhibition it was possible to sign up for a car to the price of 4800 SEK. That many found reasonable and signed up for a car. Volvo's new "peace car" was called PV444.

Unfortunately the cars could not due to lack of materials be delivered until 1947. When the production started the price had increased to 6050 SEK but Volvo's chief executive Assar Gabrielsson decided that they who had signed up for a car at the exhibition for 4800 SEK could buy the car at that price in spite that it meaned a loss for Volvo.
Volvo had planned to build 8000 PV444, the largest series in the history of Volvo, but they quickly had to extend to 12000 cars since 10000 were already sold when the production started. But more and more people wanted their own PV444 so Volvo had to continue building it until 1957, and in all 196004 cars were made.

Of course the car changed through the years and with the PV-klubben club directory you can decide the age of a PV with 100% safety.

Pictures

Latest update on September 22 2002