Volvo invest in battery pack production at excavator plant
New plant in South Korea to manufacture wide range of battery pack solutions for Volvo Group
VOLVO Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) have announced a SEK80 million (around US$7.8 million) investment in battery pack production at their excavator plant in Changwon, South Korea, signalling once again the company’s ambition to drive industry transformation with sustainable solutions.
With the investment from Volvo Group, a new production facility will be built at the Changwon plant – which at around 1.1 million sq m, is the largest excavator production site in Volvo CE, producing around 55% of the company’s total excavator volumes.
The new facility will produce a wide range of common electric storage solutions (battery packs) for the Volvo Group and become a core competence centre for electric excavators. This will allow Volvo Group to offer more sustainable solutions to their APAC markets in a more flexible, cost-effective and agile way, and will include supply chain, manufacturing and logistics.
Andy Knight, head of excavator operations and managing director of Volvo Group Korea, said: ‘As the largest plant in Volvo CE and the core site for excavator development and production, Changwon is at the forefront of our shift to a sustainable future.
‘This investment is an important milestone in our electrification roadmap and supports our recent investments in production facilities for electric excavators. Changwon is ideally located close to battery module supply partners and other key suppliers in South Korea, to meet the needs of customers in the future. We are also home to a highly skilled and motivated workforce who are fully committed to meeting our future environmental targets.’
The new production facility will be built inside the current component workshop at Changwon – without disruption to the existing operation. Once complete, the facility will be approximately 2,500 sq m including assembly and logistics areas. The building work will begin in April 2023, with battery pack production expected to commence in June 2024.
Coming soon after announcements of investments in the production of electric wheel loaders in Arvika, Sweden, and electric haulers in Braås, Sweden, Volvo CE say this is another sign of their commitment to becoming completely fossil free by 2040 – in line with the Paris Agreement and as laid out in the company’s Science Based Target goals.
