Volvo Cars announced freshly that it will open a third European manufacturing plant. This will allow the company to continue meeting the demand for electric cars from customers and maximize its future growth potential.
The company will build electric cars at the new, state-of-the-art plant. It will also be climate neutral. This is in support of its ambition to become fully electric by 2030, climate-neutral by 2040 and expand its global production capacity to meet its growth goals. Volvo Cars have chosen Slovakia to be the new location of its plant. This creates a European triangle in manufacturing that covers its largest sales area. It complements the Ghent (Belgium) in Western Europe, and Torslanda (Sweden), in northern Europe.
The investment in the new facility is approximately EUR 1.2 billion. It will be close to Kosice in the eastern region of Slovakia. There it will have access to a well-established supply chain for automotive parts as it becomes the fifth vehicle plant in the country.
Volvo Cars aim to achieve annual sales of 1.2million cars by the middle of the decade. This goal is achieved with a global manufacturing footprint that spans Europe, America, and Asia.
Jim Rowan, chief executive of Volvo Cars, stated that the company has a clear goal to become a pure electric mobility brand in 2030. This is consistent with their purpose. Our shift to electrification is only possible if we expand our European sales footprint. I am delighted to expand Volvo Cars’ production in Slovakia. I look forward to meeting new colleagues and partners along the way.
“I am grateful that Volvo Cars decided to build its new plant here in Slovakia. We are very pleased that Volvo Cars has built a new plant in Slovakia. It will improve the socio-economic situation of the region, and it will produce electric cars. This gives the Slovak auto industry a competitive edge in an environmentally friendly era,” stated Eduard Heger, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic.
“Personally, I am pleased that Slovakia won the competition for this mega-investment, which will bring many jobs in eastern Slovakia with lots of direct or indirect job opportunities,” stated Richard Sulik, Minister of Economy in Slovakia.
Construction of the Kosice plant will begin in 2023. Equipment and production lines will be installed by 2024. The production of series-produced pure electric Volvo cars next-generation is expected to begin in 2026.
Volvo Cars plan to make its operations climate-neutral by 2025. The plant will only use climate-neutral energy. The plant will be an industry leader in premium electric cars, with an optimized layout and logistics flow. Volvo Cars strives to achieve the highest standards of energy efficiency and sustainability worldwide.
Kosice is a great location for logistics and transport. It also has easy access to a large supplier base. It was also helped by the incentives provided by the Slovak government.
It is capable of producing up to 250,000 cars annually and will create several thousand jobs in the area. Future expansion is possible at the site.
Javier Varela is the chief operating officer of Volvo Cars, he said, “We look forward to welcoming new members to Volvo Cars Kosice and the global Volvo Cars families, as well as creating new collaborations, partnerships, and alliances in the region, It will be a modern workplace in a state-of-the-art plant that focuses on safety and sustainability.”
Kosice is the first European Volvo Cars manufacturing facility to be established in Europe for nearly 60 years. In 1964, the Torslanda plant opened. The Ghent plant followed one year later. These two facilities can each produce 600,000 cars per year.