Swedish automaker Volvo Cars has eliminated Georgia as a finalist for its first U.S. manufacturing plant, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations.
The news is a stinging blow for Georgia recruitment efforts and leaves South Carolina as the only known finalist for the plant. South Carolina officials have pitched Volvo a site north of Charleston. The factory was highly coveted by Georgia leaders who hoped to secure the car factory at a sprawling site 30 minutes west of Savannah.
Instead, Volvo appears to favor South Carolina for the half-billion dollar facility. It is believed the auto company plans to create about 4,000 jobs over a decade.
A Volvo spokesman said no decisions about the factory location have been made.
Neither Gov. Nathan Deal’s office nor the Georgia Economic Development Department would comment.
The AJC first reported Volvo's interest in Georgia in March, which the state dubbed "Project Peach." The company also confirmed its intent to build a U.S. factory, though it did not name finalists.
State officials made Volvo a top target and approved legislation to pave the way for the deal. Economic recruiters readied a 1,900-acre site with access to rail lines and nearby ports. Both Gov. Nathan Deal and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley made final pitches in late April to Volvo officials at the carmaker's U.S. headquarters in New Jersey.
Heavy manufacturers, including automobile companies, are coveted by states because of the high job count on site and thousands of potential spin-off jobs created by suppliers. But they also demand hefty incentives - often including land, infrastructure, tax credits and grants - and Volvo will be no exception.
Specific incentives offered by South Carolina and Georgia were not immediately known. But officials in both states maneuvered in recent weeks to free up money for grants, education programs and other perks.
Georgia lawmakers approved a new manufacturing workforce training center for southeast Georgia in the most recent state budget. Deal also successfully lobbied for an extraordinary $40 million increase in the state’s so-called deal-closing grant programs during the most recent mid-year budget plan.
The State newspaper in Columbia reported that South Carolina officials were set to borrow $120 million in bonds to help woo the project.
Volvo is based in Sweden but was acquired by Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding in 2010. It previously was owned by Ford.
Georgia officials have had an active past several years in recruiting big companies. Mercedes-Benz announced metro Atlanta for the home of its U.S. headquarters earlier this year, though no manufacturing is involved. The state was also said to be in the mix for a Sprinter van factory. South Carolina, where Sprinter already had a facility, won the factory expansion.
Georgia also was said to be in the running for a Jaguar Land Rover factory, a project that appears to have been put on hold.
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