Volvo will be building a new electric car production facility in Košice, Slovakia starting in 2023. The investment is expected to come close to €1.2 billion.
The industrial complex will become Volvo’s first new factory in Europe over the past 57 years. The construction will begin in 2023, with the assembly lines scheduled for installation a year after that and the production start set for 2026 or so.
Once complete, the complex will churn out up to 250,000 EVs annually. In its statement, the Swedish company points out that thousands of people will get new jobs thanks to it. If needed, the site may be expanded in the future for greater manufacturing opportunities.
The choice of location in Košice was dictated by convenient logistics and conditions proposed by the Slovakian authorities: apparently, the government is willing to subsidize around 20% of the expenses.
This will be Volvo’s third factory in Europe after Sweden and Belgium. For Slovakia, it will be the fifth automobile production plant on its territory.
The XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge are the marque’s only all-electric vehicles to date. The company said it was going to produce five more electric models, including two more SUVs (one of them the successor to the XC90), a sedan and a couple of wagons.