Gothenburg, Sweden (Oct. 3, 2011) -- Volvo Car Corporation (VCC) will, when it takes sole ownership of Pininfarina Sverige AB in 2013, will cease production in the Uddevalla plant.
"The low volumes in the Uddevalla plant do not justify continued production," said Stefan Jacoby, President & CEO of VCC.
All employees in Uddevalla will be offered employment in Gothenburg or in other VCC production units in Sweden.
"We will now look into when a next generation Volvo convertible can be on the market and where it should be manufactured," Jacoby said. "The Uddevalla plant delivers cars with a very high quality. However, a car manufacturer of Volvo's size cannot, from a financial standpoint, justify a plant that manufactures one single model in the low volumes we have today. The production capacity in Uddevalla is today only utilized to 65 percent, giving us an uncompetitive fixed cost per unit."
The Uddevalla plant manufactured just over 10,000 cars in 2010.
Today, approximately 600 people works at Pininfarina Sverige AB in Uddevalla. When the plant ceases production in 2013, all employees will be offered employment within VCC in Sweden.
"The staffs in Uddevalla are very skilled car builders," Jacoby added. "Therefore we hope that as many as possible will choose to join Volvo Car Corporation."
VCC has been building cars in Uddevalla since 2005 in a joint venture with Pininfarina S.p.a., the latter being the majority shareholder. In March 2011, the two companies agreed to terminate the joint venture, which means that VCC will be the sole owner of the Uddevalla operation in 2013.
About Volvo Car Corporation
Volvo Car Corporation develops, manufactures and sells Volvo cars. In 2010, about 373,000 Volvo cars were sold. Volvo Cars is represented in approximately 100 countries globally. Research and development is located in Gothenburg, with production in Sweden, China, Belgium, Thailand and Malaysia.
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Media:
Laura DiStefano, Volvo Cars of North America
201-767-4834 / ldistef3@volvocars.com
