BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Swedish luxury vehicle maker Volvo Cars plans to build a new European plant in eastern Slovakia, the country’s economy minister said Friday.
Volvo’s third European plant will be located in an industrial park in Kosice, Slovakia’s second-largest city, according to Richard Sulík, Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic. Volvo will receive about 20% of the 1.2 billion euros ($1.25 billion) needed for the project as support from the Slovak government.
The plant is expected to produce some 250,000 electric cars a year and to create some 3.300 jobs. Construction is scheduled to begin next year and production to start in 2026. Volvo has set a goal of only making electric cars by 2030.
“I am extremely happy that we can announce that the Volvo company is coming to Slovakia, which has chosen Slovakia for its first expansion in Europe since 1960,” Sulík said in a statement. “I am very pleased that Slovakia has succeeded in the competition for a mega-investment that will bring development and a lot of jobs the eastern part of Slovakia.”
Germany’s Volkswagen, France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen, South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp. and U.K.-based Jaguar Land Rover already have major plants in Slovakia, a Central European country of 5.5 million people.
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