What Volvo’s Announcement Means to Upstate South Carolina
May 12, 2015
Volvo Cars Corp. announced that it has chosen South Carolina as the site for its first U.S. plant, outlining a plan to build a $500 million plant in Berkeley County. The announcement further solidifies the state of South Carolina’s reputation as a leader in the global automotive industry and is critical at a time where an increasing number of automotive manufacturers are establishing operations in North America.
(Volvo’s South Carolina plant will make latest generation Volvo models for sale in the United States and for export. Construction will begin in early autumn 2015, with the first vehicles expected to roll off the assembly line in 2018.)
Volvo considered advantages like easy access to international ports, a well-trained labor force and high-tech manufacturing resources when it selected South Carolina for its U.S. home. The company will work throughout the region to further develop a skilled automotive workforce, helping the state add to the already impressive talent pool found in the Upstate region.
“Any announcement to bring new business to the state of South Carolina is good for the Upstate,” said John Lummus, president and CEO of Upstate S.C. Alliance. “With BMW here in Greer, we now have two world-class automotive manufacturers that call South Carolina home.”
“The effects of Volvo’s presence in the state will have a tremendous positive impact on suppliers in Upstate South Carolina. This region has become the center of the Southeast’s automotive cluster. With easy access to interstate highways, rail services and commercial and private air connectivity, suppliers in Upstate South Carolina have the unique advantage of being able to reach assembly plants throughout South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and beyond. Today is a great win for South Carolina’s entire automotive industry.”
South Carolina is home to 250 automotive-related companies—including more than 150 here in the Upstate—and is the top-ranked exporters of both tires and automobiles.
For more information on the automotive industry in South Carolina and the Upstate, visit https://www.upstatescalliance.com/target-audiences/welcome-automotive-companies.