GOTEBORG, Sweden, Dec. 8, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Last summer's Volvo Baltic Race was a success in terms of the sport of sailing, public interest and media coverage. As a result, AB Volvo and Volvo Car Corporation have decided to once again be the title sponsors for the event in 2004. "The competition is an extremely important complement to the Volvo Ocean Race and reinforces Volvo's position as a long-term sponsor for the sport of sailing," said Anders Lofgren of Volvo Ocean Race.
"The Volvo Baltic Race for the SEB Trophy" will be one of next year's major sailing races. The competition starts in Gothenburg on June 19, 2004, and will end with the prize ceremony in Stockholm on July 8. During the race, the yachts will also participate in the Kiel Week (Kieler Woche) and the Round Gotland race. An innovation for next summer will be that the yachts will sail via Copenhagen and in-port races will be organized in several of the harbors visited. Sailing enthusiasts will have the opportunity to see the V.O.60 yachts, which have sailed around the world, competing side-by-side. This is an idea borrowed from the plans for the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006.
"In a short time, Volvo has become perhaps the most important and long-term player in ocean sailing races and, with the Volvo Baltic Race, it has been possible to bridge the periods between Volvo Ocean Races, something that others have tried but have not succeeded in doing," said Gurra Krantz, owner of the yacht that won this year's Volvo Baltic Race.
An evaluation of this year's competition showed that the sponsorship of the Volvo Baltic Race was money well spent for Volvo. Just the value of the media attention gained by Volvo during the race was several times greater than the amount invested. In addition to media exposure, the competition also offered extensive opportunities for relationship marketing, a highly important activity for the Volvo companies.
"Sailing represents many values that are important for the Volvo brand, such as the environment, sustainability, teamwork and excitement," said Anders Lofgren. The aim of the Volvo Baltic Race is to make ocean racing even more accessible to a larger audience and to provide sponsors and sailors with an opportunity to compete in the years between the Volvo Ocean Races, which are held every fourth year.
For further information, please contact: Marten Wikforss, AB Volvo, +46 31-66 11 27 Christer Gustafsson, Volvo Car Corporation, +46 31-59 65 25 Anders Lofgren, Volvo Ocean Race, +46 708-219309
The Volvo Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and services. The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. The Volvo Group, which employs about 71,000 people, has production facilities in 25 countries and sells their products in more than 185 markets. Annual sales of the Volvo Group amount to 18 billion euro. The Volvo Group is a publicly-held company headquartered in Goteborg, Sweden. Volvo shares are listed on the stock exchanges in Stockholm, London and Frankfurt and on NASDAQ in the US.
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