Volvo has confirmed it plans to build a U.S. auto plant, and Georgia is on the company’s short list of sites, people with knowledge of the situation told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A Volvo spokesman said Monday the company plans to build a $500 million manufacturing center where it will build models on its newest platform, which will be the basis of both cars and sport utility vehicles. He declined to say which states the company has scouted or how many are in the running.
He said the number of jobs and the vehicles to be produced has yet to be determined, and an announcement is expected within two months.
Auto factories are among the most coveted economic development projects for states because of the jobs they create and the potential for thousands more at suppliers. Of late, Mexico has gotten the nod for several foreign auto plants in North America, but Volvo’s decision and the recent one by Sprinter to enlarge its van operations in South Carolina bode well for the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing.
Volvo is based in Sweden but is now under Chinese ownership.
For months, Georgia leaders have made moves intended to woo auto plants, such as bulking up state incentives and making a change in law to make it easier for state agencies to buy vehicles from companies with factories in Georgia.
The AJC reported March 4 that the state was angling for both a Volvo factory and a Jaguar Land Rover plant. It now appears the Volvo plant has become the state’s biggest economic development target, as Jaguar Land Rover has reportedly put off its decision on a U.S. factory.
Negotiations to land Volvo or any other automaker will likely require incentives including grants, tax credits, infrastructure improvements and job training assistance.
Bloomberg reported three states are on Volvo’s shortlist, but did not name them. South Carolina is among the other states known to have heavily recruited the company.
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