Volvo's Ghent Plant Hits 40 Series Milestone

Volvo has just announced a major milestone at its Ghent manufacturing plant in Belgium. 

Seven years ago, its workers assembled the first ever Volvo XC40, the brand's compact SUV.

Yesterday they assembled their millionth, a milestone that speaks to both the lasting global success of Volvo's SUV lineup and its manufacturing strategy to build its cars where they sell them.

“We passed a very important milestone in the history of Volvo Car Gent today and I’m very proud to announce that we have produced our one-millionth XC40/EX40,” says Stefan Fesser, CEO Volvo Car Ghent.

“With our dedicated and highly skilled team, we are following our strategy towards electrification, demonstrated by the fact that we have already built more than 175,000 fully electric versions of this model.”

Volvo XC40: Driving EV innovation

First introduced at September 2017 at an event in Milan, Italy, the Volvo XC40 was the brand's first ever small premium SUV. 

It quickly became a best seller, winning the prestigious European Car of the Year award in 2018, making it the first Volvo model in history to do so. 

In 2020, the XC40 was made available as a fully electric version, renamed the EX40. The first ever pure electric Volvo built at scale, it laid the foundation for Volvo's further EV expansion.

The car features innovative technologies like over-the-air updates, while it is powered by in-house-developed electric motors. Since its introduction its become among Volvo's three best-selling models, highlighting the growing demand for premium EV models. 

With five fully electric cars on the market and five more fully electric models in development, Volvo is a leader in automotive electrification.

By 2030 the company wants 90-100% of all its cars sold around the globe to have a cord.

The introduction of the XC40 was the start of a new era for Ghent and for Volvo, as a global export hub that's helped transforming the manufacturer into an EV leader.

Volvo continues to make further investments in the Ghent plant, with plans to produce the popular fully electric EX30 from early 2025. 

The company's strategy of long-term European investment continues to pay off.

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