Image courtesy of Koenigsegg
Industry: Automotive
Location: Ängelholm, Sweden
On Koenigsegg, Its Founding, And Its Mission
Bearing its founder Christian von name, Koenigsegg Automotive AB is a brand built on a dream. Captivated by cars at a young age, Koenigsegg began his journey as an innovator, builder, and designer with an unwavering commitment to create the perfect supercar. As the company puts it: “There is existential purpose to his pursuit of building the ultimate car with no compromises and no limits that succeeds against the odds.”
Founded in Sweden in 1994, Koenigsegg has stayed true to its mission, which has resulted in some of the most sophisticated and highly sought-after hyper and mega car models in the world. Whether it’s the Regera or Jesko, each vehicle produced in Koenigsegg facilities have distinct features, a luxurious look, and are consistently upgraded to include innovative technology. Really, you don’t even have to be a car enthusiast to appreciate a Koenigsegg.
“Every detail of a Koenigsegg is designed to enhance its experience or performance. From the way we choose our staff, to the raw materials, the setup of our facilities, our software, tools, systems, and maintenance – everything. Every deliverable matters – from the powertrain, output, and safety to the carbon fiber arrangement, interior stitching, and comfort, to special ways of applying paint or finishing a car in Naked Carbon,” says Koenigsegg Automotive AB. “The Koenigsegg philosophy is to avoid compromise. Utilizing innovation for multifunctional solutions, while ensuring a conscious thread of sustainability. We take advantage of opportunities to dream bigger than we’ve ever dreamt before. We aim to share the Koenigsegg dream with the world and grow our customer and fan base.”
Koenigsegg is a perfect example of how a company can emerge as a market leader when its mission is full of heart and rooted in passion.
A Spirit Worth Noting
One thing about a dream like Christian’s is that it never dies, no matter what obstacles arise. Here is a story from the company to prove it:
“Koenigsegg relocated to its present location (in Ängelholm, Sweden) and headquarters after a fire in the company’s original premises in 2003. The 9000sqm facility was once home to the Swedish Air Force’s Fighter Jet Squadron No. 1 before the squadron was retired from service, and once housed JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets. When Christian first set foot on the disused premises and was walking through the hangers, he came upon the Ghost Squadron’s insignia and their motto, ‘the show must go on’. It was an incredibly moving sign for him, considering the fire that engulfed much of his and his team’s earlier development work.”
“As such, the squadron’s insignia, a flying ghost, now adorns the engine bay of all Koenigsegg cars built here as a tribute to the Squadron. Our community of staff, customers and fans are also known as the ‘Ghost Squadron’.”
“Now refurbished to suit Koenigsegg’s requirements, these facilities provide the perfect infrastructure for building high-tech megacars. There is ample room for engineering, software development, design, the composite workshop, engine development and testing, a pre-and final assembly hall, a paint shop, research and development facilities, as well as vehicle and parts storage. As the Koenigsegg team now grows to over 400 in staff strength, our factory has since expanded to nearby facilities to accommodate a growing team and increasing demand for Koenigsegg cars, engineering and technology.”
“Right outside our facilities, we have our very own test track proving ground that used to be a fighter jet runway with its surrounding infrastructure. We use this proving ground to run rigorous tests on all our cars.”
THE VISION
“A purpose focused on ultimate performance and creating a lasting automotive legacy. One with a perpetual quest of breaking the mold(s), poised to conquering new frontiers and breaking new ground.” – Koenigsegg Automotive AB
Image courtesy of Koenigsegg
What’s Next?
“With more than 20 years of experience, we are at a very interesting point on our journey. As a technological powerhouse, and an outlier in the automotive industry, we will expand the meaning of Sustainable Mobility on land, in the air and in the water.”
“The company has started with a dream to make the ultimate performance car and in that process Koenigsegg has increasingly reclaimed parts of the engineering and production in-house – anything from the Dihedral Synchrohelix door design, the unique transmissions, the in-house designed engines, all are now a part of Koenigsegg’s technological competence and DNA. Christian often says, ‘We are a technology company that showcases proof of our concepts through the megacars that we produce’. And it is indeed a thrilling time moving forward because we do imagine iterations of our innovations in multiple applications beyond the megacar space. For instance, we foresee the realization of our Freevalve (camless) engines in other industries such as marine and aircraft, where a small power-dense but compact/ lightweight engine would fit. There are so many exciting possibilities that lie ahead!”
“Christian cites the unique company culture as a contributing factor to the trailblazing technologies Koenigsegg has developed in its short history, saying that ‘we don’t mimic our competitors or compare with what others are doing, we focus on our realm and innovations. For example, inventing new technology or solutions such as the Light Speed Transmission (LST) in the Jesko, or the Koenigsegg Direct Drive (KDD) in the Regera. Looking to the next horizon, we are working on sustainable mobility solutions that include more advanced electric powertrains, more use of AI to optimize our machines, and solutions for mobility in the air and in the sea.”
