Volvo to Open a New Electric Car Factory in Europe

To increase its electric vehicle production, the Swedish manufacturer Volvo will establish a third European factory, in Slovakia.

The Volvo Group is among the most committed to electric vehicles. Very early, its subsidiary Polestar focused on 100% electric. The Polestar 2 launched the strategy in 2020, followed by the “3” and “4” SUVs as well as the Polestar 5 sedan in 2024.

As for the parent brand Volvo, it announced in 2019 its intention to stop selling 100% combustion engine cars. A publicity stunt, since some models were only micro-hybrids, with very small batteries that barely reduced pollution. However, all but the V60 Cross Country station wagon have a plug-in hybrid variant. Two even have an electric version, the Volvo C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge.

250,000 Volvo electric vehicles per year starting in 2026

Volvo aims to achieve 100% electric sales worldwide by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2040. To accelerate the development of this type of vehicles, the Swedish manufacturer is opening a new factory. The third site will be built in Kosice, Slovakia, after those in Gent (Belgium) and Torslanda (Sweden) opened in the 1960s. The company claims to be investing €1.2 billion in this project.

Patience, however, as construction will only begin in 2023, and assembly lines in 2024. Volvo estimates it will start assembling the first electric cars at this factory from 2026. The Slovak site’s capacity would be 250,000 cars per year, totaling 600,000 across the continent. The Scandinavian group has not specified which models will be produced there.

Slovakia is thus becoming a fertile ground for the automotive industry. The Volvo factory will be the fifth national plant for this industry, which is significant for a territory of only 5.5 million inhabitants! The existing sites include Volkswagen in Bratislava (VW e-Up!, Audi Q7/Q8), Stellantis in Trnava (Peugeot e-208 and 208 ICE), Jaguar Land Rover in Nitra (Defender), and Kia in Zilina (Ceed/Xceed).

A future Volvo battery factory?

However, Volvo CEO Jim Rowan clarified that the site is large enough for “a possible future expansion” which could serve “a dedicated battery production plant”.

Currently, Volvo already collaborates extensively with four battery suppliers. In 2019, the Scandinavian group signed agreements with leading companies CATL and LG Chem. Additionally, the automaker formed a partnership with Swedish manufacturer Northvolt in 2021. The Volvo-Northvolt factory in Gothenburg will begin operations in 2025. Finally, in April, Volvo also invested in the Israeli company StoreDot.

Also read: Verkor will build its Gigafactory battery plant in Dunkirk