STOCKHOLM, Feb 8 — Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars said today that it will invest nearly a billion euros in its historic Gothenburg plant in Sweden to switch its production to electric cars.

The Swedish subsidiary of China’s Geely, which announced last March that it will move to a 100-per cent-electric range by 2030, will make this investment in the Torslanda plant "in coming years, in preparation for the production of that next generation of fully electric cars.”

The factory, which opened in 1964, is the oldest and largest of the Gothenburg-based carmaker, with nearly 6,500 employees, producing 1,250 vehicles per day.

This investment comes on the heels of another major project in Volvo’s electrification strategy, the announcement of the construction of a joint factory with Swedish battery maker Northvolt, also near Gothenburg.

Part of a research and development centre, the battery factory will eventually employ 3,000 people and is part of an investment of around €3 billion (RM14 billion).

From 2019 Volvo Cars has limited itself to only selling hybrid or all-electric models, and is one of the most advanced manufacturers of electric vehicles.

But car manufacturers worldwide are rapidly moving towards electric vehicles and are increasing the number of factory conversions to move away from the combustion engine. 

French company Renault is investing in its Douai site in northern France, as is Volkswagen in Zwickau in Germany and the Japanese company Nissan in Sunderland in England. — AFP