Back in 1977, Volvo attempted to combine forces with rival Swedish brand Saab but the offer was ultimately rejected. Saab is no longer around to regret that decision. Today, Volvo is doing better than ever thanks to its parent company, Geely, which acquired the brand from Ford exactly 10 years ago. Volvo is now celebrating that decade anniversary in fine style. Under Geely's ownership, Volvo is no longer just a European brand but rather a global player in the luxury vehicle market.

Ford purchased Volvo back in 2009 and placed it within its Premier Automotive Group, alongside Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover. All four automakers were later sold by Ford before and during the Great Recession. But of those four, Volvo appears to be in the best shape financially thanks to Geely's stewardship.

"Volvo Cars today is stronger than it has ever been," said CEO Hakan Samuelsson. "With Geely, we started a new successful phase that took us to a whole new level. We completely renewed our product portfolio, established a global presence, almost doubled our sales and went from break-even to profitable. Going forward, we will continue to grow our business together with Geely."

Geely also owns Polestar and, more recently, acquired Lotus. In short, Geely invested in Volvo in ways Ford never did and Saab never chose to. While many were shocked when Geely bought the company back in 2010, it's clear now a long-term investment plan that focused heavily on new technologies, powertrains, design and, of course, continued safety advances, has paid off.

It's just taken a few years to see the fruit from those planted seeds. Without Geely, SUVs like the Volvo XC40 and XC60, and sedans such as the Volvo S60 and S90, wouldn't be around today. In fact, Volvo is now considered a serious rival to luxury players like BMW and Mercedes.

The fact that it's only taken a decade to reach this point is remarkable. Looking ahead, Volvo aims to become a world leader in electric vehicles. By 2025, half of its global sales volume will be fully electric vehicles. The rest will be hybrids. Volvo has already announced it has permanently ditched diesel. An all-new modular platform, dubbed SPA2, will underpin the next-generation lineup. Where Geely had vision, Saab and, years later, Ford, were merely wearing bifocals.