Volvo has announced a billion-dollar investment in its Torslanda plant in Sweden. According to the automaker, the amount will serve to improve the plant and provide for the development of the bodies of its future electric cars, which must now have one-piece chassis, that is, a single block to house the cars.
This technique is used by Tesla to build its SUV, the Model Y, and brings benefits such as greater lightness to the whole car, which, in the case of electric vehicles, increases energy efficiency and guarantees, for example, more performance and autonomy. .
“With these investments, we take an important step towards our all-electric future and prepare for even more advanced electric Volvos. Torslanda is our largest factory and will play a crucial role in our ongoing transformation as we move towards becoming a electric-only manufacturer by 2030,” said Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo’s chief executive, in a statement.
According to Volvo, the amount poured into this factory will be US$ 1.1 billion.
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a single piece
Volvo says the brand’s upcoming electric cars will be made in a different way than usual. Instead of the pieces joined separately, the chassis will be a one-piece block of aluminum, something that should provide more efficiency and lower costs for the automaker. This process is called “megacasting” in literal translation.
The promise is that the next Volvo cars will be lighter, safer and more connected, as this new manufacturing modality will facilitate the process. In addition, the automaker wants to make more vehicles using sustainable steel.
The Torslanda plant has an annual production capacity of 300,000 cars and is one of Volvo’s oldest manufacturing facilities. It was opened in April 1964 by the Swedish King Gustaf VI Adolf and was for a long time the largest individual workplace in the country. Currently, the Torslanda factory works in three shifts and employs around 6,500 people.
