In July 1924, businessman Assar Gabrielsson and engineer Gustaf Larson met at the Sturehof restaurant, Stockholm. Over a large plate of red crayfish, the new car company was planned, and the rest is, as they say, history. By 1926, the first prototypes - built to demonstrate the company's potential to prospective investors - were underway, nine open vehicles and one closed - and the first Volvo car crash occurred, when a prototype collided head-on with an imported American car whilst out testing on the road from Stockholm to Gothenburg. The American car was completely wrecked, whilst the Volvo was just scratched: at this point, the company realised that safety was an important issue, and that this could be a good selling point.

The fledgling company attracted backing from SKF, the Swedish engineering firm where Gabrielsson had been a sales manager for ball bearings. SKF provided the company's premises, and also its name - Volvo, Latin for "I roll", and a name previously used by SKF in another venture. The first Volvo rolled off the lines on the 14th April 1927, an open-topped four-door vehicle codenamed OV4, but nicknamed "Jakob", as the 14th October is the saint's day for Jakob in the Swedish calendar. Jakob came in dark blue with black wings only, and was built on an ash and beech frame with sheet metal panels. Its side-valve four-cylinder, 1940cc engine produced 28 bhp, and Volvo claimed a top speed of 55 mph and a cruising speed of 37 mph. It even had a three-speed gearbox, with a floor-mounted lever, full leather upholstery and rolled along on 20-inch wooden spoked wheels. Volvo made 275 Jakobs between 1927 and 1929, which it sold for 4,800 Swedish kroner each. Front wheel brakes were a 200 kroner option.

Later in 1927, the first Volvo saloon was produced, the PV 4; PV stood for PersonVagn, denoting a passenger car. It had a similar engine to the Jakob, but had side panels covered with fabric instead of sheet metal, over an insulated wooden frame. It was also an early example of a camper van: its seats could be folded to form a bed. It cost from 5,800 kroner and 694 were sold, including a streamlined 'Special' version introduced in 1928. Volvo started to export, first to neighbouring Finland, and then to Denmark, Cuba, the Netherlands, Palestine, Syria, Egypt and Argentina, and to produce trucks. It got off to a slow start, however, and had to fight off an aggressive takeover bid from American car maker Charles Nash; he sailed into Gothenburg to make an offer, but Gabrielsson and SKF were determined to keep the company Swedish.

The first six-cylinder Volvo, the PV 651, was launched in 1929, and was longer and wider than the Jakob and PV4 with a 55 bhp 3010cc engine and four-wheel mechanical drum brakes. It was also offered as a chassis minus bodywork, which proved very popular amongst the growing numbers of taxi drivers, who then ordered bespoke carriage work to suit their needs. Volvo sold 2,982 before it was replaced in 1934.

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