Volvo revealed in October, amid the preview of the upcoming XC40 Recharge electric crossover, that an electric version of its next-generation XC90 SUV will be built at Volvo’s plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, near Charleston. Now Volvo has confirmed a battery plant will be part of a plant expansion to accommodate it and other next-generation XC90 models. 

As first reported by Automotive News, the expansion will be complete by the end of 2021 and will include a second assembly line for the XC90, as planned, plus the assembly and testing of lithium-ion battery packs for the fully electric XC90. The plant currently builds the S60 sedan. 

2019 Volvo S60 Reveal in South Carolina

Yet to be clarified by Volvo is whether this operation directly involves CATL or LG Chem, the two major battery makers that Volvo signed long-term global agreements with last May. 

Volvo declined to comment on that but released to Green Car Reports the following statement: “The size of our Ridgeville campus underlines our long-term commitment to the U.S. as a key market and will allow for continued growth in the coming years, including the creation of an EV battery facility. This new facility will be a key factor in getting closer to our goal of half of all new Volvo cars sold globally to be fully electric by 2025.”

2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge

On the way to that goal, Volvo aims to introduce a new fully electric model every year.

The electric XC90 is expected to go into production towards the end of 2022 and be Volvo’s third fully electric model, after the XC40 Recharge and a sedan yet to come. The XC40 Recharge, which shares much with the Polestar 2, is due in the fourth quarter of this year, with a price of about $55,500—$48,000 after factoring in the $7,500 EV tax credit.