GHENT, Belgium—Volvo Cars has started to assemble the XC40 Recharge. It is the first of several fully electric vehicles that the automaker plans to produce within the next five years to reduce its CO2 footprint per car by 40 percent. By 2025, Volvo expects 50 percent of its global sales to consist of fully electric cars, with the rest hybrids.
“Today is a momentous occasion for all employees here in Ghent,” says Javier Varela, head of global industrial operations and quality at Volvo Cars. “As we continue to electrify our line-up, the Ghent plant is a real trailblazer for our global manufacturing network.