Volvo Cars will soon assemble electric motors at its powertrain plant in Skövde, Sweden, and plans to establish complete in-house e-motor production by mid-decade.
The company announced earlier this year that it is investing significantly in the in-house design and development of e-motors for its next generation of cars. With the planned investments in Skövde, which has been used by the company since 1927, is taking the first steps toward in-house assembly and manufacturing. As a first stage, the Skövde facility will assemble e-motors then at a later stage, the company intends to bring the full manufacturing process for e-motors in-house into a facility in Skövde.
“The very first Volvo from 1927 was powered by an engine built in Skövde,” said Javier Varela, senior vice president of industrial operations and quality. “The team is highly skilled and committed to delivering on the highest quality standards. So it is only fitting that they will be a part of our exciting future.”
Volvo says that bringing the development and production of e-motors in-house will allow its engineers to further optimize both motor design and the entire electric driveline in new Volvos, benefiting overall vehicle efficiency and performance.
Design and development of the company’s electric motors currently takes place in Gothenburg, Sweden and Shanghai, China. Earlier this year the company opened a new electric motor lab in Shanghai, in addition to battery labs in China and Sweden.
The remaining activities at the Skövde engine plant, focusing on the production of internal combustion engines, will be transferred to a separate subsidiary of Volvo Cars, named Powertrain Engineering Sweden (PES), which is to be merged with parent company Geely’s combustion engine operations.
