Geely’s Volvo Cars has started production of its V90 premium estate at Torslanda, Sweden.
The first buyer-ready V90 was made some time after the first S90, its sedan variant. The new cars share the line with the XC90 and all three 90 series models, based on the SPA in-house developed modular vehicle architecture, are now being built in Sweden.
Volvo said SPA-related investments in the country have boosted employment. The automaker has all but doubled staff numbers at Torslanda in the last two years to around 6,300. It has also hired 1,000 engineers over that period and continues to recruit for R&D.
‘Multiplier effects’ have created “numerous” new jobs at suppliers and in other businesses in the region, providing a boost to the automotive manufacturing cluster in Gothenburg and the wider economy in western Sweden.
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“Taking the new V90 into production is an important milestone for Volvo,” said president and chief executive Håkan Samuelsson. “We have invested heavily in preparing the Torslanda plant for building SPA vehicles and it is encouraging to see the positive response to the new 90 cars. We are going from strength to strength, as our transformation plan continues to bear fruit.”
The three new 90 series cars are part of a US$11bn transformation programme launched in 2010. Over the next three years, the automaker will revamp its entire car range. The introduction of the new cars has resulted in “significant sales and profitability growth”, Volvo said in a statement.
Boosted by the redesigned XC90 (which replaced a model launched in 2002), Volvo Cars in 2015 sold over 500,000 units for the first time. Annual operating profit trebled to SEK6.6bn, with a profit margin of 4%.
For 2016, Volvo expects another record sales as the S90 and V90 reach dealers worldwide and XC90 has its first full year of production. In the first five months of 2016, sales rose 10.4 with growth in all major regions. Full-year revenue and operating income are also expected to improve further.
“While the new [90 models] have helped us rejuvenate the brand, Volvo’s transformation is far from complete,” said Samuelsson. “Three years from now, the XC90 will be the oldest car on the showroom floor. In other words: the new 90 series is only the start of the new Volvo.”
Last month, the automaker launched its global small car strategy with two concepts based on its new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA). Created for smaller cars, CMA will underpin the next generation of 40 series cars plus models for parent Geely’s own brands in China. The first new car on the CMA platform is due in 2017. Next-generation 60 series Volvos will be built on the larger SPA underpinnings.
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