"Investigations so far confirm that a limited amount of the company's R&D property has been stolen during the intrusion. Volvo Cars has earlier today concluded, based on information available, that there may be an impact on the company's operation," Volvo was quoted as saying.

"After detecting the unauthorised access, the company immediately implemented security countermeasures including steps to prevent further access to its property and notified relevant authorities," it added.

The attack did not have "an impact on the safety or security of its customers' cars or their personal data," the company noted in their statement.

But they conditioned the statement by saying this was only based on their "currently available information".