Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) announced an investment into battery pack production at its excavator plant in Changwon, South Korea, signaling its ambition to drive industry transformation with sustainable solutions.

The $7.8 million (SEK 80 million) investment from Volvo Group will enable the plant to begin manufacturing a wide range of battery pack solutions for the Volvo Group. The new facility at the Changwon plant will produce a wide range of battery packs for Volvo Group and become a core competence center for electric excavators.

“As the largest plant in Volvo CE and the core site for excavator development and production, Changwon is at the forefront of our shift to a sustainable future,” Andy Knight, head of operations excavator and managing director of Volvo Group Korea, said.

This investment is an important milestone in our electrification roadmap and supports our recent investments in production facilities for electric excavators. Changwon is ideally located close to battery module supply partners and other key suppliers in South Korea to meet the needs of customers in the future. We are also home to a highly skilled and motivated workforce who are fully committed to meeting our future environmental targets.”

The new production facility will be built inside the current component workshop at Changwon – without disruption to the existing operation. Once complete the facility will be approximately 2,500 sq. meters including assembly and logistics areas. The building work will begin in April 2023, with battery pack production expected to commence in June 2024.