Volvo plans to introduce a high-volume hybrid mannequin in the US, aiming to reinforce manufacturing at its Ridgeville, South Carolina plant. At the moment, this facility solely manufactures the all-electric EX90 SUV and the Polestar 3.
Going through challenges after a lackluster first quarter, Volvo is implementing vital cost-cutting measures, together with virtually $2 billion in decreased spending. Nevertheless, to really enhance its trajectory, the automaker is overhauling its manufacturing and distribution processes globally.
The Ridgeville plant’s capability is underutilized, having bought simply 1,000 EX90s within the U.S. through the first quarter. To deal with this, Volvo’s new CEO, Hakan Samuelsson, indicated a need to supply a high-volume hybrid mannequin on the website. “It needs to be a automobile with mild-hybrid and plug-in variations to actually deliver up the volumes,” he stated.
Whereas it stays undecided which particular mannequin will likely be added, the XC60 or XC90 are the most definitely candidates. Each fashions are provided as gas-powered delicate hybrids and plug-in hybrids and share the Scalable Product Structure (SPA) platform, in contrast to the smaller XC40, which makes use of the Compact Modular Structure (CMA). The Ridgeville manufacturing facility, although retooled for EV manufacturing, nonetheless has the potential to fabricate SPA-based autos, making the XC60 and XC90 sturdy contenders for U.S. meeting. Samuelsson famous, “A wagon or a sedan isn’t very seemingly,” emphasizing the recognition of SUVs within the U.S. market.
Within the first quarter, Volvo bought a complete of 9,369 XC90s and 12,706 XC60s throughout all powertrain varieties, indicating that these fashions outsold all others mixed. Therefore, producing one in all these fashions within the U.S. would seemingly alleviate logistical challenges and cut back prices for the automaker. At the moment, 90% of Volvo’s U.S. gross sales come from fashions produced in Europe. Samuelsson remarked, “We can’t usher in automobiles from Europe and simply consider they’ll promote.”
Source link
