Volvo Launches Investigation After Russian Team Poses with New Truck

Volvo has halted its sales to Russia. Therefore, the company was surprised when the Russian national ski team posed with a new truck. Volvo is now investigating the images.

The president of the Russian Ski Federation, Jelena Välbe, described the truck as "the most powerful vehicle in series production" when the federation presented its latest addition.

– It allows us to move the waxing trailer regardless of weather and conditions, Välbe said in a press release.

In two images, Välbe posed with the truck – a Volvo FH16 750 – valued between two and three million kronor.

Reports: How the Trucks Are Smuggled

The images raise questions because Volvo stopped its sales to Russia and Belarus at the start of the war.

Dagbladet, the first to report on the images, states that the trucks are initially ordered to countries in the Middle East or Central Asia and then, through Iraq or Iran, eventually end up in Russia.

After Dagbladet inquired about the smuggling, Volvo launched an investigation to determine the origin of the Russian team's truck.

"Will Take Action"

The investigation is ongoing, Volvo Group's press chief Claes Eliasson told Expressen.

"We are in the process of analyzing the images to see if we can obtain any data points, such as the vehicle's age, to investigate its origin further," Eliasson wrote in an email.

He continued:

"We are reviewing all records to see to whom we have sold this model, in this color, in recent years, and then we will see if it can be traced to which customer it was sold, and how this customer has handled the truck."

Volvo's customer agreements include a prohibition on resale in Russia and Belarus.

"Should we find that an original customer has violated contractual terms regarding sanctions, we will take appropriate action, such as ceasing deliveries to that customer," Eliasson wrote.

How did you react to the truck being used by the Russian team for PR purposes?

"We would have preferred to see Kamaz on the front...", Eliasson wrote, referring to the Russian truck manufacturer.