The North Korean government owes Volvo around €300 million – you know why.
The story goes back to the late 1960s, at a time when North Korea was experiencing a period of strong economic growth, which opened doors to foreign trade. For political and economic reasons – an alliance between socialist and capitalist groups is said to have sought to assert Marxist theories and profit from the Scandinavian mining industry – the links between Stockholm and Pyongyang tightened in the early 1970s.As such, Volvo was one of the first companies to seize this business opportunity by exporting a thousand Volvo 144 models to the land of Kim Il-Sung, having been delivered in 1974. But as you can already see, only the Swedish brand fulfilled with its share of the deal, as the North Korean government never paid off its debt.
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According to information released by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter in 1976, North Korea intended to pay the missing amount with the distribution of copper and zinc, which ended up not happening. Due to interest rates and inflation adjustments, the debt now amounts to 300 million euros: "the North Korean government is notified every six months but, as we know, it refuses to fulfill its part of the agreement", he says. Stefan Karlsson, brand finance director.
As farcical as it sounds, most models are still in circulation today, serving mainly as taxis in the capital Pyongyang. Given the shortage of vehicles in North Korea, it is not surprising that most of them are in excellent condition, as you can see from the model below:
Source: Newsweek via Jalopnik