In a recent press release, Volvo North America has promised to spend an additional $520 million and add nearly 2,000 more jobs to their plant under construction in Charleston, South Carolina.
Volvo announced two years ago it would build its new S60 model in the factory. In a recent press release, Volvo announced that it would double the number of jobs at the plant to 3,900 and make a total investment of $1.1 billion. Total production capacity will grow to 150,000 vehicles a year, according to a Volvo spokesperson.
The S60 production line is slated for 2018 while the second auto production line will start in 2021 to produce the hybrid XC90.
The State of South Carolina provided Volvo with $200 million in incentives and agreed to build a new interchange near the facility.
Volvo is the third major vehicle maker to come to South Carolina. BMW and Daimler AG are the top vehicle producers in the state. The Volvo brand has expanded dramatically around the world since Chinese billionaire Li Shufu’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. bought it from Ford Motor Co. in 2010. Last year, the automaker sold 82,726 vehicles in the US, according to the automotive research firm Autodata.