East-Flanders province governor Carina Van Cauter and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo visit the factory ahead of the presentation of the Volvo C40 Recharge at the Volvo Car plant in Gent.
(Photo : JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Like other carmakers, Volvo is riding the wave of electrification that is currently sweeping the auto industry, CarBuzz reported. In March of last year, the Chinese-owned Swedish automaker announced its plans to become a fully electric car company by 2030. Volvo is laying the groundwork for its electric future, with reports emerging that the car brand will launch a new, fully electric SUV soon.
Sources with knowledge of the situation told Automotive News that Volvo's new EV would be based on a new electric platform and feature the latest autonomous driving technologies.
Not much is known about the secret new Volvo SUV that is currently codenamed V546. This SUV reportedly will slot in between the popular XC60 and XC90 models of Volvo in terms of size. The new SUV model is expected to be the company's third battery-electric vehicle manufactured at Volvo's facility in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Volvo hands production duties of SUV to its China and US plants
As per Gear Patrol, the American plant will share production duties of codename V546 with a still undisclosed facility in China. Based on the rollout for Volvo's Concept Recharge, this vehicle will be a global model with Volvo targeting to produce around 100,000 units per year. An estimated breakdown of production sees 40 percent of the vehicles being made in America and the remaining 60 percent in China.
Production of Volvo's new SUV will begin first in China, with Volvo reportedly setting a late-2024 start date. Volvo has declined to comment about the report, so we have no idea yet when production of the SUV will start at the North Charleston facility.
That factory in South Carolina is a massive one, with its land area placed at 2.3 million square feet. Volvo has vast plans with this facility, which will build the carmaker's next-generation BEVs. The Charleston facility, which Volvo plans to be BEV exclusive, opened in 2018. It currently produces Volvo's S60 midsize sedan and the next-generation XC90. The factory has two model assembly lines, pushing its production capacity to 150,000 vehicles annually.
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Polestar also has big plans with the South Carolina facility
The facility, however, is not limited to the use of Volvo, with sister brand Polestar also having some access to the production plant. Car Expert reported that Polestar will soon launch the all-electric Polestar 3 crossover, and the company will use the South Carolina plant as its production base. To help in that endeavor, the car brand will pour in $118 million to expand the factory.
The Charleston plant's main goal is to supply the American market with electric vehicles from Volvo and at least one EV from Polestar. It will also act as a production hub for vehicles that Volvo and Polestar plan to export to other markets across the globe.
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