Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2016
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Impairments of goodwill		$ 234,200,000	$ 0	$ 0
Goodwill	$ 1,688,800,000	1,688,800,000	1,870,700,000	1,666,300,000
Net transaction gains (losses)		(23,900,000)	(3,000,000)	(11,000,000)
Autoliv Nissin Brake Systems
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Impairments of goodwill	234,200,000
Goodwill	0	0			$ 234,700,000
Electronics
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Impairments of goodwill		234,200,000
Goodwill	291,700,000	$ 291,700,000	$ 490,100,000	$ 278,000,000
Electronics | Autoliv Nissin Brake Systems
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Impairments of goodwill	$ 234,200,000
Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of investments in affiliated companies	50.00%	50.00%
Other intangible assets, useful lives		25 years
Minimum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of voting right		50.00%
Percentage of investments in affiliated companies	20.00%	20.00%
Other intangible assets, useful lives		3 years