Volvo Cars will assemble electric motors in Skövde, Sweden
Volvo Cars will assemble electric motors at its powertrain plant in Skövde, Sweden, and is slated to have full electric motor production in-house by the middle of this decade. In the coming years, the company will allocate 700 million Swedish kronor (68 million euros) for this purpose.
Volvo Cars aims to become a premium electric vehicle manufacturer, with 50% of its global sales from EVs by 2025 and hybrids the rest.
Manufacturing in Skövde has been part of Volvo Cars' history since the company was founded in 1927. The addition of electric motor assemblies to the plant's production plans means that the historic site in Skövde will also become part of the company's future.
Volvo Cars announced earlier this year that it is investing heavily in in-house design and development of electric motors for Volvo's next generation models. Thanks to the planned investment in Skövde, the company is taking the first steps in assembling and manufacturing electric motors in its own facility.
In the first phase, only the assembly of electric motors will be carried out at the Skövde plant. At a later date, the company plans to fully implement the production process of electric motors.
“The very first Volvo in 1927 was equipped with an engine built in Skövde,” says Javier Varela, senior vice president of production and logistics at Volvo Cars. - The plant team is highly qualified and committed to the highest quality standards. So it's only natural that they will be part of our exciting future. "
Taking on the role of ICEs in the automotive industry, electric motors are one of the main components of electric vehicles, along with batteries and power electronics. The interplay of these three pillars is critical to the creation of premium electric vehicles.
The in-house development of electric motors will enable Volvo Cars' engineers to further optimize the electric motors and the entire electric transmission of new Volvo cars. This approach will further improve energy efficiency and overall productivity.
The company's electric motors are currently designed and developed in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Shanghai, China. Earlier this year, a new electric motor laboratory was opened in Shanghai, in addition to ongoing electric motor development in Gothenburg and state-of-the-art battery laboratories in China and Sweden.
The remaining ICE-oriented activities at the Skövde engine plant will be transferred to a separate Volvo Cars subsidiary, Powertrain Engineering Sweden (PES). As previously reported, PES is slated to merge with Geely's internal combustion engine production.
About Volvo Car Group
Volvo has existed since 1927. Today, Volvo is one of the world's most famous and respected car brands. Volvo Cars sells its vehicles in approximately 100 countries, with global sales of 705,452 vehicles in 2019, surpassing 700,000 units for the first time in the company's history. Volvo Cars was part of the Volvo Group (Sweden) until 1999, when it was acquired by the Ford Motor Company (USA). In 2010 Volvo Cars was acquired by Zhejiang Geely Holding (China).
In line with its new strategy, Volvo Cars is committed to providing customers with a “Freedom to Move” that meets safety, stability and customer needs. This strategy is reflected in a number of ambitious goals for the company. Thus, by 2025, half of Volvo Cars' total sales will be electric cars, half of all cars will be offered to customers by subscription, and a third of cars will be equipped with autonomous driving technologies.