Volvo has named South Carolina the home of its first US plant. Volvo plans to invest $500 million to build the new plant in Berkeley County right outside of Charleston, SC. The Chinese auto maker, Zhejiang Geely said this move will create approximately 2,000 – 4,000 jobs and will produce 100,000 cars per year.
Construction for the plant is set to begin in 2015 and they are expected to roll the first set of vehicles off of the assembly line in 2018. According to the Detroit Free Press, this is another major win or Nikki Haley, who has been able to attract big companies by taking a firm stance against unions.
South Carolina beat out the state of Georgia because of its easy access to ports and infrastructure, as well as a trained labor force. Mercedes-Benz also plans to spend $500 million to build a new plant in Charleston, SC. Also, the BMW plant in Greer, SC planed a $1 billion expansion at a factory in 2014 to build the new BMX X-series vehicles, bringing the adding 800 additional employees, bringing the total amount of employed workers to 8,800 people. Looks like South Carolina is the new official home for car/plane manufacturers.
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