Analysts believe that in this way the company is trying to protect itself from a possible increase in import duties in the United States. For the Swedish brand, sales in America play a key role: during 2023, about 40 thousand XC90 units and a similar number of XC60 found their owners there, which together amounts to approximately 63% of all cars of this brand sold on the American market.
The Volvo plant in Ridgeville, located in the USA, currently operates at only 13% of its design capacity, which is designed for the production of 150 thousand cars annually. Currently, these facilities produce the electric models EX90 and Polestar 3, but interest in them remains restrained: in half a year, only 1972 such cars were sold. For comparison, in June alone, American Volvo dealers managed to sell 3004 XC90 units and 2421 XC60 cars.
Launching the production of in-demand models at these facilities should revitalize the plant's operations, reduce transportation costs, and make the company less vulnerable to changes in trade regulation. In addition, this decision demonstrates Volvo's intention to increase the presence of local production in markets that are important to it.
