Photo: Volvo
Like all other car companies out there, Volvo targets a major shift of its business in the coming years. By 2025, the Swedes say, half of all new Volvos being sold should be powered by electricity alone, and the rest at least in part electrified. That, of course, requires a great deal of new hardware to be made.
Currently, there’s only one fully electric Volvo out there, the XC40 Recharge presented about a year ago. It is powered by two electric motors and has an advertised range of 400 km (248 miles). It will soon be joined by other models, and that means the demand for specific technologies is about to explode.
The carmaker doesn’t plan to rely on outsiders for the production of electric motors, not even on its Chinese partners. The company announced today it would begin to assemble e-motors at home, at its powertrain plant in Skövde. Not long from now (by the middle of the current decade), the full manufacturing processes for the hardware should take place there.
Cutting cost is one of the reasons for the decision, but Volvo also says this would allow its engineers “to further optimise electric motors and the entire electric driveline in new Volvos.”
For the task at hand, the carmaker announced it would be investing 700 million SEK, which is about $83 million at today’s exchange rates.
The Skövde facility is one of Europe’s oldest plants, having been around since 1927, and it is currently one of the area’s largest employers.
“The very first Volvo from 1927 was powered by an engine built in Skövde,” said in a statement Javier Varela, senior vice president of Industrial Operations and Quality. “The team is highly skilled and committed to delivering on the highest quality standards. So it is only fitting that they will be a part of our exciting future.”
The carmaker doesn’t plan to rely on outsiders for the production of electric motors, not even on its Chinese partners. The company announced today it would begin to assemble e-motors at home, at its powertrain plant in Skövde. Not long from now (by the middle of the current decade), the full manufacturing processes for the hardware should take place there.
Cutting cost is one of the reasons for the decision, but Volvo also says this would allow its engineers “to further optimise electric motors and the entire electric driveline in new Volvos.”
For the task at hand, the carmaker announced it would be investing 700 million SEK, which is about $83 million at today’s exchange rates.
The Skövde facility is one of Europe’s oldest plants, having been around since 1927, and it is currently one of the area’s largest employers.
“The very first Volvo from 1927 was powered by an engine built in Skövde,” said in a statement Javier Varela, senior vice president of Industrial Operations and Quality. “The team is highly skilled and committed to delivering on the highest quality standards. So it is only fitting that they will be a part of our exciting future.”
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