Breaking new ground

The light to medium-duty trucks from Volvo up to 1932 had not been very modern, having two-wheel brakes and wooden-spoke wheels. It was obvious that a smaller, more modern truck was needed. Volvo's resulting LV71 and LV73 series proved very popular, to such an extent that these two truck series can be said to have established Volvo as a major exporter of trucks by the mid 30s.

However, the most radical step of the era was to move the engine of the truck, which had normally been placed behind the front axle, forwards and upwards on top of the front axle, thereby greatly improving the axle load distribution. The result was the Volvo LV8 and LV9 trucks, two very popular truck series that were to become standard Swedish trucks during the late 1930s.