All European car makers participated in that scheme. The EU let them.

Volvo released the modern standard seat belt in 1959 but it was originally worked on by a government safety company who offered it to Volvo. Volvo were also a very different company back then.

Volvo Cars has been separate from its former parent conglomerate and producer of heavy trucks, buses, and construction equipment (among others) AB Volvo since 1999 when AB Volvo sold its automobile division Volvo Cars to Ford Motor Company for US$6.47 billion.[3] On 28 March 2010, Ford sold Volvo Cars at a loss to Geely Holding for $1.8 billion; the deal closed in August 2010.[4][5] Volvo Cars was publicly listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange in 2021, though Geely Holding still retains majority ownership. Volvo Cars and AB Volvo share the Volvo logo, and cooperate in running the Volvo Museum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_Cars

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt

But as usual, good things were done by the public sector and the goodwill and financial reward were reaped by the private sector.