Geely's Volvo Cars has started actual production of the S60 mid-size luxury sedan at its first US factory in Ridgeville, South Carolina.
The redesigned saloon was launched at the plant's official opening back in June.
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The plant may come in handy after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Chinese built cars. Volvo had planned to ship in an SUV from its Chinese factory but now will import it from Sweden. Ridgeville provides opportunity to build more models in the US for domestic sale and export.
The first US made cars reache US retailers later this year and exports start in spring 2019.
The automaker has previously assembled cars from kits in Canada.
"We're proud to launch Volvo's first American-made car," said Jeff Moore, vice president, manufacturing, Americas.
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By GlobalDataThe company currently has two manufacturing plants and an engine plant in Europe, three manufacturing sites and an engine plant in China, and assembly plants in India and Malaysia.
The South Carolina site is 2.3m square feet on 1,600 acres and includes body and paint shops, final assembly line, vehicle processing centre, office building and soon, a 'Volvo Cars University'.
Construction started in 2015.
In 2021, the South Carolina factory will build the next XC90. With the two car lines, capacity will be 150,000 units a year.
