Volvo exports S.C.-made S60s to Europe

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Volvo Cars now exports S.C.-made S60 sedans to Europe.

The automaker expects to produce nearly 50,000 vehicles at its plant near Ridgeville this year with plans to export more than half of those vehicles to 93 countries.  

Initial exports are heading to Europe and will expand to the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia throughout the year. The S.C.-made S60s will not be exported to China amid tariff battles between the U.S. and China.

Volvo officials have been very vocal that they want the back-and-forth tariffs to end. The Sweden-based, Chinese-owned automaker relies on global suppliers and customers.

“Export markets are critical to the long-term success of our plant and we’re on track to deliver vehicles to our customers worldwide,” said Jeff Moore, Volvo Car U.S. Operations’ vice president of manufacturing for the Americas, in a news release.

Initial production began at the Volvo Cars automotive campus in Berkeley County last summer. Full production started in the fall with the first U.S.-produced S60s arriving at North American dealerships late last year. The vehicles are now exported through the Port of Charleston to European customers. 

“We began commercial production of the S60s just six short months ago here in South Carolina, and we’re excited to be building cars for customers around the world,” Moore said.

The S60 models will arrive at the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium. They will then go to distribution centers in Ghent, Belgium to “feed the European retailer network in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech, Slovenia and Poland,” the company said.