The story
Autoliv was founded in Vårgårda, Sweden in the form of Auto Service AB in 1953 by Lennart Lindblad. Autoliv's name combines auto for automobiles, and "liv" {‘li:v} the Swedish word for "life". In 1956, the company became a pioneer in seat belt technology when it began production of two-point seat belts. The name of the company was changed to Autoliv AB in 1968. It was bought in 1974 by Granges Weda AB, inventors of the retractable seat belt. Granges Weda was acquired in turn in 1989 by Electrolux and changed its name to Electrolux Autoliv AB. During the 1980s and 1990s, the company grew through acquisitions, mainly in Europe. Between 1994 and 1997 the company was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange under the name of Autoliv AB and in 1997 it merged with the American firm Morton ASP Inc to form Autoliv Inc. In June 2018, the company spun off its Electronics business into a separate company Veoneer Inc.
In March 2019 Autoliv was fined €121 million by the European Commission for participating in two cartels that violated EU antitrust rules. The company, along with TRW and Takata, coordinated the supply of seatbelts, airbags, and steering wheels to Volkswagen Group and BMW Group from 2007 to 2011. Autoliv received a 30% reduction in its fine under the Leniency Notice and an additional 10% reduction for acknowledging its involvement. This case was part of a broader investigation into anti-competitive practices in the automotive parts sector, which resulted in total fines of €2.15 billion.
In November 2019, Autoliv selected Fredrik Westin as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, succeeding Interim CFO Christian Hanke.
From Wikipedia’s article on Autoliv, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7