“The new S60 is one of the
most exciting Volvo cars we’ve ever made,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and
chief executive of Volvo Cars. “It is a true driver’s car that gives us a
strong position in the US and China sedan markets, creating more growth
opportunities for Volvo Cars, ” he added.
The new S60 is the first Volvo
car to be sold without a diesel offer, signalling the company’s
industry-leading commitment to electrification and a long-term future beyond
the traditional combustion engine. In 2017 Volvo Cars was the first global car
maker to announce its strategy that from 2019 all new models will be
electrified.
Two turbo-charged and
super-charged plug-in hybrid petrol engines will be available in the new S60:
Volvo’s T6 Twin Engine AWD plug-in hybrid that generates a combined 340hp, and
the award-winning T8 Twin Engine AWD plug-in hybrid that delivers 400hp.
Volvo’s proven T5 and T6 petrol engines will be available at launch.
Volvo plant in US: The establishment of a state-of-the-art
production facility in South Carolina follows Volvo Cars’ global manufacturing
strategy, ‘Build where you sell.’ The company’s first US facility complements
its two manufacturing plants and an engine plant in Europe, three car factories
and an engine plant in China, and assembly plants in India and Malaysia.
The Charleston plant starts
production of the new Volvo S60 premium mid-size sports sedan, based on the
company’s Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform, in the fall of 2018.
From 2021, the factory will also build the next generation of the Volvo XC90
large premium SUV. Cars built at the plant are destined both for the domestic
US market and international export.
“The Charleston plant establishes the US as
our third home market,” said Samuelsson, adding that “The sedan segment and the
SPA platform’s proven ability to boost profitability offer significant growth
opportunities for Volvo Cars in the US and globally.”
Volvo Cars is investing around USD 1.1 billion
in its US manufacturing operations and will create around 4,000 new jobs at the
Charleston site over the coming years. Approximately 1,500 staff will be
employed by the end of this year.
“The opening of our first American factory is
a very big deal,” said Anders Gustafsson, president and CEO of Volvo Car USA.
“Our US business is developing well, our cars have won prestigious awards, and
the new South Carolina facility will be a big asset to both Volvo Cars and the
community,” he noted.
The new Charleston facility
includes an office building for up to 300 staff from R&D, purchasing,
quality and sales. The plant can produce 150,000 cars per year at full
capacity. The site occupies 1,600 acres and the building space covers 2.3
million square feet. Construction on the facility broke ground in 2015.
The company will build plug-in
hybrid cars at all of its car plants globally. In 2017 Volvo Cars was the first
global car maker to announce its strategy that from 2019 all new models will be
electrified.
Source: Volvo Cars