They will convert the North Charleston, S.C. plant.
This factory opened three years ago.
Volvo plans to go all-electric by 2030.
Volvo is demonstrating how important the North American market is to their business with this announcement. In fact, this first all-EV plant will go online ahead of any other in Europe and even China.
Starting late next year, the 2.3-million-square-foot operation in Ridgeville, an hour northwest of Charleston will begin assembling a battery-electric version of the popular midsize premium XC90. By 2024, an electric XC60 may also be built alongside the XC90.
Volvo XC60 T8 | Photo: Olivier Delorme
Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson said as reported by Automotive News: “Charleston will play a very important role in our electrification strategy. It’s a huge investment that we are doing.” The investment he’s referring to amounts to roughly $700 million at the site to build EVs.
It’s widely known that Europe and China are well ahead of the US and Canada when it comes to EV adoption however Volvo is confident. “We are convinced the premium car market will be electric,” Samuelsson said, guessing that North American buyers, especially those looking for premium vehicles, will catch up quickly enough.
