Volvo's plant will be the fifth there, and will bolster the country's standing as the biggest car producer per capita in the world, with the central European country of 5.4 million producing more than 1 million cars in 2021.
For Volvo Cars, it will be its third plant in Europe and will build EVs only, in line with the company's ambition to produce EVs exclusively by the end of this decade."Expansion in Europe, our largest sales region, is crucial to our shift to electrification and continued growth," Chief Executive Jim Rowan said in a statement.
The area targeted for the plant has long had high unemployment compared with the western part of the country. "I am very pleased that Slovakia succeeded in the competition for this mega investment that will bring development and many jobs to the east of Slovakia," Economy Minister Richard Sulik said in a statement.Its output last year rose by 5.6% to almost 700,000 automobiles, of which 27% were either fully electric or plug-in