---
title: "This Is How North Korea Once Stole 1,000 Volvos from Sweden"
description: "Hint: It didn't involve Nicolas Cage."
date: "2017-12-04"
modified: "2017-12-04"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/16660/this-is-how-north-korea-once-stole-1000-volvos-from-sweden"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Volvo News"
tags:
  - "North Korea"
  - "pyongyang"
  - "sedan"
  - "sweden"
  - "taxi"
  - "Volvo"
  - "volvo 144"
---

# This Is How North Korea Once Stole 1,000 Volvos from Sweden

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/12/gettyimages-482642521.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

With all the [nuclear-tipped saber rattling](<https://www.twz.com/16583/well-within-range-of-north-korean-missiles-hawaii-turns-to-cold-war-air-raid-sirens>) between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, the country that was once a punchline is now a lot harder to joke about. But it's worth remembering that the Hermit Kingdom's misdeeds haven't always threatened the lives of millions of people—like the time the regime dabbled in grand theft auto and stole 1,000 Volvo sedans from Sweden.

Despite a collapsed economy and severe international sanctions, there's a healthy mix of old Soviet and European beaters, imported luxury cars, and [home-grown copycats](<https://mashable.com/2015/11/01/north-korea-cars/#PNhQiMuc6iqz>) plying the wide streets of Pyongyang these days. [And as *NPR* reports,](<https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/12/04/547390622/how-1-000-volvos-ended-up-in-north-korea-and-made-a-diplomatic-difference?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=202904>) among them is a hardy band of 1973 Volvo 144s, survivors from a 1,000-car fleet that the North Koreans boosted from Sweden in the mid-1970s.

![message-editor%2F1512423866439-1269338111\_2d8c56f9a1\_o.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1512423866439-1269338111_2d8c56f9a1_o.jpg>)
**Flickr | [**htsh\_kkch**](<https://www.flickr.com/photos/htsh_kkch/>)**

Back then, the country was flush with Soviet cash. That steady supply of aid plus a growing industrial economy convinced several Sweden-based exporters to invest in North Korea, and in 1974, the Swedish government agreed to send over $70 million in heavy machinery to the satellite state, along with that batch of 1,000 [Volvo](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/16234/this-bizarre-volvo-pv544-has-a-38-8-liter-diesel-v-12>) 144 sedans to serve as taxis. A year later, with economic ties deepening between the two countries, Sweden became the first Western nation to open an embassy in Pyongyang.

Unfortunately, the good times wouldn't last. North Korea's economy began to falter soon after, and though Sweden has maintained diplomatic relations with the country—much to the benefit of detained American citizens—the Hermit Kingdom never actually paid for all those Volvos. Citing the Swedish Export Credit Agency, [*NPR* reports](<https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/12/04/547390622/how-1-000-volvos-ended-up-in-north-korea-and-made-a-diplomatic-difference?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=202904>) the interest and penalties on the debt for the cars has grown to a staggering $322 million over the last 40-odd years.

https://twitter.com/_/status/789377081239109634

The Volvos aren't as ubiquitous as they once were in North Korea, but some are still in use as taxis. If the regime's [unpaid parking tickets in New York City](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/14562/north-korea-owes-new-york-city-156000-in-unpaid-parking-tickets-report-says>) are any indication, though, it doesn't seem like Sweden will be getting its money or its cars back anytime soon. Not that the Swedes seem to mind: [In a tweet from last year](<https://twitter.com/SweEmbassyinNK/status/789377081239109634>) spotlighting one of the "stolen" cars, the Swedish embassy seemed more shocked by the half-million kilometers on the clock than its extralegal status.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)