The South Carolina plant will start production of the next-generation S60 in the fall of 2018. The addition of the next generation XC90 from 2021 as well as a planned new office campus will create 1,900 new jobs, which come on top of the 2,000 new employees currently being hired.

The US is the largest single market for the XC90, although a considerable amount of XC90 volume will be exported from the Port of Charleston. Total US production capacity at the plant will rise to 150,000 vehicles annually.

The XC90 has played an important role in Volvo Cars’ sales revival in the United States and around the globe. The large SUV, launched in 2014, is the most awarded luxury SUV of the century and helped Volvo Cars recover its sales in the United States from a low of 56,000 units sold in 2014 to almost 83,000 units in 2016.

The announcement on further expansion in South Carolina allows Volvo Cars to take another step toward the company’s ‘build where you sell’ global manufacturing strategy. It currently operates two manufacturing plants in Europe, as well as two factories in China. A third Chinese plant is currently under construction.