Volvo to invest £800m in Torslanda factory to prepare for electric future

By Sam Phillips

8 Feb 2022

Volvo will invest more than £800m in upgrades to its Torslanda manufacturing plant in Sweden to prepare for the brand’s switch to electric-only vehicle production.

The Swedish car maker has committed to going EV-only by 2030, and is in the process of overhauling its facilities. It will invest in a new battery assembly plant while also introducing a number of sustainable technologies and manufacturing processes.

Volvo also recently announced a new partnership with battery cell company Northvolt to build a new battery manufacturing plant in Gothenburg, where cells for upcoming electric Volvos will be produced.

Located close to Volvo's Gothenberg headquarters, Torslanda is one of the firm's largest manufacturing plants. It currently produces the XC90, S60, V60, S90 and V90, and is earmarked to house manufacturing for the firm's new electric large XC90-sized SUV that will be revealed later this year.

The XC90 successor - which will be given a 'proper name' to represent its significance - will be the first true electric-only Volvo, and will be built on the new Geely Group SPA electric-only architecture.

As part of the Torslanda factory upgrade, Volvo will introduce 'mega-casting', a manufacturing technique used by Tesla to build the Model Y, where major components parts are made using a single piece of aluminium, rather than several smaller ones.

Volvo says this brings a number of advantages in terms of sustainability, costs and car performance during the car’s lifetime, with the Swedish brand being one of the first car makers to invest in this process.

The car manufacturer also added that by introducing mega-casting it will reduce the complexity of the manufacturing process, creating cost savings in material use and logistics, resulting in a reduction of the overall environmental footprint.

Volvio will also upgrade its paint shop by installing new machinery and implementing new processes, allowing for greater reductions in emissions.

Logistics areas will also be refurbished to allow for better material flow and optimising the transport of goods and parts into the plant.

“Our future as a company is all-electric and that requires a variety of upgrades across the plant to ensure that Torslanda can continue to build premium electric cars of the highest quality,” said Javier Varela, head of engineering and operations at Volvo Cars.

Volvo's two current electric cars, the XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge, are both built at its plant in Belgium.