Volvo’s new Slovakia plant will use the automaker’s most superior platform when it begins manufacturing in 2026.
“It is going to be a successor to SPA2,” Geert Bruyneel, Volvo’s head of worldwide manufacturing, advised Automotive Information Europe.
SPA2 is an electric-only structure that can underpin the automaker’s forthcoming flagship SUV in addition to the Polestar 3. Each battery-propelled premium massive SUVs will go into manufacturing later this yr at Volvo’s U.S. manufacturing facility close to Charleston, South Carolina.
Bruyneel and Volvo’s head of business technique, Erik Severinson, declined to say which automobile could be made on the new Kosice plant, however the automaker makes use of the present era of SPA (brief for scalable product structure) on fashions reminiscent of XC90 SUV and its world best-seller, the XC60 premium midize SUV.
Volvo’s subsequent flagship crossover, which is able to take over a task at the moment held by XC90, will likely be full-electric and will pay homage to the Swedish automaker’s lineage.
Volvo has not revealed the title of the primary mannequin that can use SPA2, however has mentioned it’ll deviate from utilizing alphanumeric names reminiscent of XC90 and XC60 on future automobiles.
Volvo filed for trademark safety final October for the title Embla, in response to Australian information web site Drive. In Norse mythology, Embla is the title of the primary girl.
The additional advanced model of SPA2 deliberate for Kosice will likely be executed by Volvo, which is able to proceed to share it with sibling manufacturers owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding.
“That is the subsequent era in our expertise journey,” Severinson, advised ANE.
Bruyneel mentioned that journey contains utilizing megacasting for giant aluminum physique elements.
Volvo’s largest and oldest automobile plant, situated in Torslanda, Sweden, will likely be prepared for megacasting by 2025, which coincides with the manufacturing begin for the primary full-electric automobile on the manufacturing facility.
Volvo govt Mikael Fermer advised ANE earlier this yr that switching to the brand new approach for automobile development “is the largest expertise shift since we switched from wooden to metal [for car bodies].”
Bruyneel mentioned Volvo will look to reflect Torslanda within the transfer to megacasting, with an eye fixed towards taking the techique, which is already utilized by Tesla, to a fair larger stage on the Slovakia plant.
“The brand new plant in Slovakia provides us a once-in-a-lifetime alternative to place essentially the most environment friendly state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in place,” Bruyneel mentioned.
When requested whether or not Volvo plans so as to add battery or electrical motor manufacturing on the manufacturing facility, Bruyneel mentioned that whereas these selections nonetheless should be made: “The goal is to re-think and construct an EV plant from scratch and attempt to built-in as a lot of that sort of manufacturing as attainable.” He added that Volvo has room in Kosice to develop if wanted.