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Volvo Cars, Northvolt to build battery plant with 3,000 jobs

Northvolt's new facility in Skelleftea, Sweden.   STOCKHOLM — Automaker Volvo Cars and battery manufacturer Northvolt will build their joint battery plant in Gothenburg, western Sweden, the two companies said on Friday. The new 50-gigawatt-hour (GWh) plant will create up to 3,000 jobs and make battery cells specifically developed for use in pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars, the Sweden-based companies said. Operations will begin in 2025. The two companies said last year they would form a joint venture to develop batteries, including setting up a gigafactory for production and a research and development centre, a total investment of about 30 billion crowns ($3.3 billion). Northvolt and Volvo said former Tesla executive Adrian Clarke had been appointed to lead the production company. "He comes with a long experience from Tesla as well as around how to build these type of factories," Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson, who also previously worked for Tesla, told Reuters. Volvo Cars head of engineering and operations, Javier Varela, said access to fossil-free energy, skills and infrastructure had been factors for choosing Gothenburg, Volvo's hometown. Competition for talent is fierce, with most battery engineers based in Asia. Tesla and Asian companies such as LG and Samsung SDI are also setting up factories in Europe. Northvolt's gigafactory in the Swedish town of Skelleftea assembled its first battery cell at the end of December, making it the first European company to design and manufacture a battery in Europe. Carlsson said it was running as planned, although he said global supply-chain problems, semiconductor shortages and the COVID-19 had made it more of a challenge. "It has not been the easiest of times," he said. Volvo Cars, majority owned by China's Geely Holding, aims to sell 50% pure electric cars by the middle of this decade and fully electric cars only by 2030. Northvolt, whose biggest shareholder is Volkswagen, has so far receive more than $30 billion worth of contracts from customers such as BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars and Polestar.  

Volvo prices its entry-level 2025 EX30 EV

Volvo announced Tuesday that it kept its promise to launch its new entry-level 2025 EX30 EV with an MSRP of $34,950 ($36,245 after Volvo's now-$1,295 destination fee). On top of that, we now have full pricing for the EX30 range, from the Core on up to the twin-motor Ultra. Just how reasonably priced is this new premium compact electric crossover? Well, every trim's MSRP starts below the current average transaction price for a new vehicle in the United States — and note we didn't say "electric" there.  The EX30 is offered in two powertrain variants, each with its own trim structure. The Single Motor Extended Range is offered in Core, Plus and Ultra trims. Meanwhile, the Twin Motor Performance is offered in just two: Plus and Ultra. The configuration names give it away, but if frugality is your game, the 275-mile Single Motor Extended Range is for you; if you want to hit 60 in just 3.4 seconds at the expense of range, then the Twin Motor Performance is what you're after. It'll cost you, of course; the jump from a Single Motor Core to a Twin Motor Plus is $9,950 — one heck of an upcharge for all-wheel drive — but remember: The two-wheel drive model is no penalty box. The single-motor EX30 is rear-wheel drive, not front. Here's the full pricing breakdown:  Single Motor Extended Range Core - $36,245 Plus - $40,195 Ultra - $41,895 Twin Motor Performance Plus - $46,195 Ultra - $47,895 Technically, the EX30 is $100 more expensive than we expected, but that's down to Volvo bumping up its destination fee for 2025. Hey, as Korzeniewski notes, they're still charging less to import an EX30 from overseas than Ford charges to ship an F-150 from Michigan, so we can't get too bent out of shape. Presumably the assembled-in-China EX30 does not qualify for the federal tax credit. Look for Volvo's bare-bones but stylish little electric crossover to hit dealerships in the first half of 2024; deposit holders will be able to configure their existing orders in the coming months.  Related video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Volvo buyers have best credit scores among all auto shoppers

Experian, the US credit reporting agency, recently concluded a study into the financing and credit scores of US car buyers. One of the prime findings was that Volvo buyers enjoy the strongest credit scores among new car shoppers from all brands (nota bene, these are Experian's own numbers and can differ from other agencies). Unlike the Forbes report on the same story, though, we don't find that surprising at all, nor do we think it necessarily helps Volvo's upscale brand aspirations. The Gothenburg-based carmaker has sold its wares on tank-like safety for decades, so it seems natural that its buyers would be just as safe with and attentive to their credit scores as they are with their choice of vehicle.
Audi was ranked fourth by consumer credit score, Porsche seventh and Mercedes-Benz ninth, yet the fact that Volvo outranks them in this metric is probably a plus to its bottom line but not necessarily its image. It's not unfair to say more people desire those other luxury brands - Volvo itself has admitted as much - and people in the throes of desire have been known to be a little more let-it-ride about things like credit scores. The differences aren't huge, though: compared to Volvo's 818, Audi shoppers scored at 813, Mercedes shoppers 802. Lexus and Acura intenders took the other two steps on the top-credit-scores podium.
Mitsubishi took the honors at the other end of the charts, Experian finding that its potential customers, with an average of 604, had the lowest scores. Mitsubishi was followed by Suzuki and Dodge. On the other side of the financing table, Toyota led the way in how many of its vehicles were bought with bank assistance, followed closely by Ford, Chevrolet taking third place. Also of note, and for whatever it's worth, not one automaker made both the 'top ten by financing' and 'top ten by credit score' lists, but four made both the financing and 'bottom ten by credit score' lists: Chevrolet, Nissan, Kia and Dodge.