Volvo moves production of its electric cars from China to Europe

The Swedish manufacturer, now under the control of the Chinese giant Geely, has begun moving the production of its electric vehicles to Belgium from China. What is more, according to the report referring to this information, Volvo is preparing to start production of the brand’s flagship, the EX90, in this country as well. Everything points to this move by the company being due to the more than likely increase in the duties to be paid on imports of vehicles from China into the European Union.

It was already last autumn when Volvo announced that starting in 2025 it will produce its new compact SUV, the EX30, at its Belgian plant in Ghent. At that time, the company justified the decision by citing greater flexibility and capacity to adapt to the demands of its European customers. However, deep down, the expected increase in tariffs in Europe already had a great deal of weight in this decision.

According to some media outlets, the period between the introduction of the new tariffs and the planned start of production in Belgium next year could be quite problematic for the company. If the higher tariffs were ultimately imposed, Volvo could even have to halt imports of new vehicles into the European Union. It is expected that, once the 2024 European Elections held on 9 June have concluded, EU authorities will announce this same week the amount of the new tariffs, if they are modified, as seems likely. According to the latest unconfirmed rumours, the new tariff for vehicles from the Chinese market will hover around 25 or 30 percent.

Europe follows the United States’ lead in imposing tariffs on Chinese vehicles

Until now, only two locations were known to be dedicated to producing the Volvo EX90: Ridgeville in South Carolina and Daqing (Heilongjiang) in China. Production in the United States began last week, as we told you right here at HighMotor, while production in China will begin at the end of this same year.

Although, as we have already commented, Volvo has been owned by the Chinese giant Geely since 2010, the company has maintained its independence throughout this time when it comes to making certain decisions. Thus, for example, the company initially decided to import EX30 units from China for the European market, until production began at its Belgian plant in Ghent. It remains to be seen, however, whether the company will be able to continue importing this compact SUV from the very moment the new tariffs on vehicles imported from China begin to apply.

The Volvo EX30 is currently available in Germany from 35,490 euros. What is not known at this time is whether this price will be maintained once the units sold in Europe no longer come from the company’s Chinese plant, where, in principle, labour costs should be lower.

Technical specifications of the cars in this article

CrossoverVolvo EX909 versions · from 83,127 €

Off-RoadVolvo EX307 versions · from 39,050 €