Photo: Volvo
Volvo is marching towards an all-electric lineup, planning to have it by 2030. To be able to do it, the Swedish carmaker is shifting operations in the United States and Canada and investing millions to make the switch.
Eighty-eight million dollars. This is how much Volvo is investing to convert the company’s plants into electric car production centers in the US and Canada.
The new initiative is codenamed CORE+ and is specifically designed to cut costs, enhance efficiency, and update workforce for an all EV manufacturing. Volvo is planning to have a fully electric portfolio by 2030 and have EVs account for half of the company’s estimated 1.2 million sales by 2025.
This means that the carmaker will be launching a new electric model each year while phasing out internal combustion engine-powered models and even hybrids.
Volvo has already come up with a replacement for the XC90 SUV, in the shape of the EX90, to join the XC40 Recharge in the zero-emission lineup, where the entry-level EX30 EV has also arrived with a price tag of $34,950.
Volvo’s "smallest ever SUV," as the brand calls it, comes with features that will turn it into a game-changer in the segment: 275 miles (442 kilometers) of range, only 26 minutes to charge from 10 to 80%, and 3.4 seconds to run from 0 to 60 mph (0-97 kph).
Meanwhile, the seven-seat EX90 SUV starts below $80,000, boasts 300 miles (483 kilometers) of range, 496 horsepower, and an acceleration time from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.
Volvo Car USA and Canada President Michael Cottone explained that all areas of business will be impacted. Unofficial sources claim that Volvo will be cutting 10% of its white-collar workforce in North America in order to downsize personnel by offering early retirement. The move is expected to take place at the beginning of October, and it should not affect the global production network. Volvo is striving to keep up with demand, as it doubled this year compared to 2022.
Volvo will only maintain "a small presence" at its Silicon Valley Tech Center, according to Volvo Cars USA spokesperson Russel Datz, as the carmaker is scaling back operations.
It is not the first time that Volvo is cutting jobs this year. Last May, the Scandinavians had to fire 1,300 employees in Sweden only. Yet it is not just firing, but also upskilling workforce to keep up with the industry, according to Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan.
The company is planning to hire experts to assist with the transition to EVs. Volvo has recently opened a tech hub in Singapore, following the one that started operations in Krakow, Poland, earlier this year.
Similar tech hubs are also in Stockholm and Lund in Sweden, in Bangalore, India, while engineering centers operate in Shanghai, China, and Gothenburg, Sweden.
The new initiative is codenamed CORE+ and is specifically designed to cut costs, enhance efficiency, and update workforce for an all EV manufacturing. Volvo is planning to have a fully electric portfolio by 2030 and have EVs account for half of the company’s estimated 1.2 million sales by 2025.
This means that the carmaker will be launching a new electric model each year while phasing out internal combustion engine-powered models and even hybrids.
Volvo has already come up with a replacement for the XC90 SUV, in the shape of the EX90, to join the XC40 Recharge in the zero-emission lineup, where the entry-level EX30 EV has also arrived with a price tag of $34,950.
Volvo’s "smallest ever SUV," as the brand calls it, comes with features that will turn it into a game-changer in the segment: 275 miles (442 kilometers) of range, only 26 minutes to charge from 10 to 80%, and 3.4 seconds to run from 0 to 60 mph (0-97 kph).
Meanwhile, the seven-seat EX90 SUV starts below $80,000, boasts 300 miles (483 kilometers) of range, 496 horsepower, and an acceleration time from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.
Volvo Car USA and Canada President Michael Cottone explained that all areas of business will be impacted. Unofficial sources claim that Volvo will be cutting 10% of its white-collar workforce in North America in order to downsize personnel by offering early retirement. The move is expected to take place at the beginning of October, and it should not affect the global production network. Volvo is striving to keep up with demand, as it doubled this year compared to 2022.
Volvo will only maintain "a small presence" at its Silicon Valley Tech Center, according to Volvo Cars USA spokesperson Russel Datz, as the carmaker is scaling back operations.
It is not the first time that Volvo is cutting jobs this year. Last May, the Scandinavians had to fire 1,300 employees in Sweden only. Yet it is not just firing, but also upskilling workforce to keep up with the industry, according to Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan.
The company is planning to hire experts to assist with the transition to EVs. Volvo has recently opened a tech hub in Singapore, following the one that started operations in Krakow, Poland, earlier this year.
Similar tech hubs are also in Stockholm and Lund in Sweden, in Bangalore, India, while engineering centers operate in Shanghai, China, and Gothenburg, Sweden.
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