The demand for Volvo’s first all-electric model, the XC40 Recharge has gone through the roof and as a result, the automaker has decided to triple its manufacturing capacity at its plant in Ghent, Belgium.
The plant currently assembles the XC40 Recharge and the plug-in hybrid version of the same model, and is preparing for the manufacture of the brand’s second fully electric model, which is also based on the top-selling CMA platform.
Volvo said it aims to boost the electric car capacity at the Ghent plant to 60% of the plant’s total production capacity by 2022. The Swedish automaker also plans to increase EV manufacturing capacity at its other facilities around the globe, which should include the Gothenburg, South Carolina and Chengdu plants.
Introduced in October 2019, the XC40 Recharge T8 features a pair of electric motors (one on each axle) and a 78kWh lithium-ion battery. This combination results in a total system output of 402 hp and 660 Nm, and an operating range of 400 km.
Check out the press release for more information:
PRESS RELEASE
Volvo Cars is tripling electric car manufacturing capacity at its plant in Ghent, Belgium as it prepares to meet fast growing demand for its Recharge line-up of chargeable cars.
The capacity increase comes as Volvo Cars also reports its full-year sales results for 2020, which showed a strong growth in demand for the company’s Recharge models. The share of Recharge cars as a percentage of total sales more than doubled in 2020, compared to 2019.
By 2022, electric car capacity at the Ghent plant will have more than tripled from today’s levels and amount to around 60 per cent of the plant’s total production capacity.
Ghent is currently preparing to take a second fully electric Volvo model, based on the CMA modular vehicle architecture, into production later this year. The plant already builds the XC40 Recharge, the company’s first fully electric car, as well as a plug-in hybrid version of the XC40.
“Our future is electric and customers clearly like what they see from our Recharge cars,” said Javier Varela, head of global industrial operations and quality. “As we continue to electrify our line-up and boost our electric production capacity, Ghent is a real trailblazer for our global manufacturing network.”
Volvo Cars is committed to becoming a premium electric car company and in coming years, the company will launch several fully electric cars. By 2025, it aims for its global sales to consist of 50 per cent fully electric cars, with the rest hybrids.
While Ghent is the first of its global manufacturing network to start building fully electric cars, the company also has plans to increase electric car manufacturing capacity at its other facilities around the globe.
Last month, Volvo Cars also announced it will assemble electric motors at its powertrain plant in Skövde, Sweden, and plans to establish complete in-house e-motor production by mid-decade. It will invest 700 million SEK to this end in coming years. The company is also investing significantly in the in-house design and development of e-motors for the next generation of Volvo cars.
