The chief executive of Volvo Car Corporation (VCC) has told a newswire that he is discussing plans for a US plant with several rival makers.
“In the medium term, five to six years, we need to find a proper solution in North America,” Stefan Jacoby is quoted as saying by Bloomberg, adding that “I’m looking for a partner that could help us utilise a North American plant.”
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Jacoby would not be drawn on the identities of the manufacturers he is speaking to, though he added that VCC is “open to everybody”.
Though speculative, the most logical Volvo model to be US-built would be the successor to the XC90. This big crossover was once hugely successful (and profitable) in America but the model is now over ten years old and on its second facelift. Its replacement is not due to be launched until 2014. The S60 is another possibility – it should switch to VCC’s SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) platform in 2017. All larger Volvos will gradually move onto this common components set.
In 2011, Volvo sold 67,273 passenger vehicles in the US, a year-on-year rise of 25%, thanks mostly to the success of the S60 and XC60. The company has thus far chosen not to offer its newest model, the V40, in what has always been its largest market. However, a forthcoming derivative, the XC40, is likely to be exported to the US – its potentially higher price compared to the V40 should offset some of the continuing weakness of the dollar versus the euro.
The V40, C30, XC60 and S60 are built at VCC’s Ghent plant in Belgium, while the XC90, S80, XC70 and C70 are manufactured in Sweden. The XC40 will be made at Ghent. Volvo Cars North America does not sell the the brand’s two other current models, the V60 and V70.
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By GlobalDataAuthor: Glenn Brooks
