Volvo Cars expands manufacturing footprint

Volvo Cars has opened its first US manufacturing plant, in Charleston, South Carolina, establishing the company as a truly global car manufacturer with plants in all three major sales regions.

The establishment of a state-of-the-art production facility in South Carolina follows Volvo Cars’ global manufacturing strategy ‘Build where you sell’.

The company’s first US facility complements its two manufacturing plants and an engine plant in Europe, three car factories and an engine plant in China, and assembly plants in India and Malaysia.

The Charleston plant starts production of the new Volvo S60 premium mid-size sports saloon, based on the company’s Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform, in the autumn of 2018. From 2021, the factory will also build the next generation of the Volvo XC90 large premium SUV. Cars built at the plant are destined both for the domestic US market and international export.

‘The Charleston plant establishes the US as our third home market,’ said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars. ‘The saloon segment and the SPA platform’s proven ability to boost profitability offer significant growth opportunities for Volvo Cars in the US and globally.’

Volvo Cars is investing around US$1.1bn in its US manufacturing operations and will create around 4,000 new jobs at the Charleston site over the coming years. Approximately 1,500 staff will be employed by the end of this year.

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