Volvo 2008 Annual Report Download - page 52
Download and view the complete annual report
Please find page 52 of the 2008 Volvo annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.-
1 -
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
-
6
-
7
-
8
-
9
-
10
-
11
-
12
-
13
-
14
-
15
-
16
-
17
-
18
-
19
-
20
-
21
-
22
-
23
-
24
-
25
-
26
-
27
-
28
-
29
-
30
-
31
-
32
-
33
-
34
-
35
-
36
-
37
-
38
-
39
-
40
-
41
-
42 -
43 -
44 -
45 -
46 -
47 -
48 -
49 -
50 -
51 -
52 -
53 -
54 -
55 -
56 -
57 -
58 -
59 -
60 -
61 -
62 -
63
-
64
-
65
-
66
-
67
-
68
-
69
-
70
-
71
-
72
-
73
-
74
-
75
-
76
-
77
-
78
-
79
-
80
-
81
-
82
-
83
-
84
-
85
-
86
-
87
-
88
-
89
-
90
-
91
-
92
-
93
-
94
-
95
-
96
-
97
-
98
-
99
-
100
-
101
-
102
-
103
-
104
-
105
-
106
-
107
-
108
-
109
-
110
-
111
-
112
-
113
-
114
-
115
-
116
-
117
-
118
-
119
-
120
-
121
-
122
-
123
-
124
-
125
-
126
-
127
-
128
-
129
-
130
-
131
-
132
-
133
-
134
-
135
-
136
-
137
-
138
-
139
-
140
-
141
-
142
-
143
-
144
-
145
-
146
-
147
-
148
-
149
-
150
-
151
-
152
-
153
-
154
-
155
-
156
-
157
-
158
-
159
-
160
 |
 |
business cycle. Cost variations may be caused
by changes in world market prices for raw
materials or by an inability of our suppliers to
deliver.
Intangible assets
AB Volvo owns or otherwise has rights to
pa tents and brands that refer to the products
the Company manufactures and markets.
These have been acquired over a number of
years and are valuable to the operations of the
Volvo Group. Volvo does not consider that any
of the Group’s operations are heavily depend-
ent on any single patent or group of patents.
Through Volvo Trademark Holding AB, AB
Volvo and Volvo Car Corporation jointly own
the brand Volvo. AB Volvo has the exclusive
right to use the Volvo name and trademark for
its products and services. Similarly, Volvo Per-
sonvagnar AB has the exclusive right to use
the name and trademark Volvo for its products
and services.
The Volvo Group’s rights to use the Renault
brand are restricted to the truck operations
only and are regulated by a license from
Renault SA, which owns the Renault brand.
The Nissan brand is owned by Nissan Motor
and the Volvo Group has limited rights to use
the Nissan Diesel brand.
Complaints and legal actions
The Volvo Group could be the target of com-
plaints and legal actions initiated by custom-
ers, employees and other third parties alleging
health, environmental, safety or business
related issues, or failure to comply with applic-
able legislation and regulations. Even if such
disputes were to be resolved successfully,
without having adverse fi nancial conse-
quences, they could negatively impact the
Group’s reputation and take up resources that
could be used for other purposes.
Risk related to human capital
A decisive factor for the realization of the Volvo
Group’s vision is our employees and their
knowledge and competence. Future develop-
ment depends on the company’s ability to
maintain its position as an attractive employer.
To this end, the Volvo Group strives for a work
environment in which energy, passion and
respect for the individual are guiding princi-
ples. Every year a Group-wide survey is con-
ducted, and according to the survey the
number of satisfi ed employees has continually
increased.
Contractual conditions related to take
over bids
Some of AB Volvo’s long term loan agree-
ments contain conditions stipulating a right for
the bondholder to request repayment in
advance under certain conditions following a
change of the control of the company. In Volvo’s
opinion it has been necessary to accept those
conditions in order to receive fi nancing on
other wise acceptable terms. Note 34 Person-
nel contains information concerning rules
regarding severance payments applicable for
the Group Executive Committee and certain
other senior executives.
Further risk information is provided in
note 2, note 29 and note 36.
48 Board of Directors’ Report 2008