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Volvo Confirms U.S. Assembly Plant
Volvo Car Group plans to open a $500 million assembly plant somewhere in the U.S. in 2018.
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Volvo Car Group plans to open a $500 million assembly plant somewhere in the U.S. in 2018.
CEO Hakan Samuelsson says the factory will have capacity to make nearly 120,000 vehicles per year. Volvo hasn't said which models will be built there, but it does say some of the facilities output will be exported.
Samuelsson describes the U.S. plant as the final piece of the global footprint Volvo has sought to establish since it was acquired in 2010 by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Volvo currently has two production facilities each in Europe and China.
Volvo targets annual sales of 100,000 units in the U.S., where its volume in 2014 fell 8% to 56,400 units. Sales through the first two months of 2015 were flat at 7,800 vehicles. Reuters notes Volvo sales in the U.S. peaked at nearly 140,000 units in 2004.
The decision to build the North American plant in the U.S. rather than Mexico underscores the brand's determination to rebuild itself among American consumers, according to Samuelsson. The company expects to complete an overhaul of its entire lineup within four years.
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