Volvo’s New EV Factory Begins Work Ahead of 2027 Production

Volvo has begun initial operations at its new electric vehicle factory in Valaliky near Košice, Slovakia, with the facility welcoming its 1,000th employee and conducting its first symbolic work shift on September 21.

Test production of the factory’s first electric vehicle is expected to begin within weeks, ahead of planned series production in 2027.

New factory prepares for electric vehicle production

The €1.2 billion facility is Volvo Cars’ first completely new European factory in almost 60 years. The plant covers approximately 300,000 square meters and is designed to handle production processes ranging from battery manufacturing and aluminum casting to pressing, painting and final assembly.

Once fully operational, the factory is expected to have capacity for up to 250,000 vehicles annually. The facility is being developed specifically for Volvo’s next generation of electric vehicles and will use production technologies including mega-casting and cell-to-body battery construction, according to CarUp.

The first models are expected to include a new electric vehicle reportedly likely to be called the Volvo EX50, along with its sister model, the Polestar 7.

However, customer production is still some time away. The initial shifts are focused on verifying manufacturing processes and calibrating equipment before test production begins.

“The test production, which starts in just a few weeks, will help us validate processes, technologies and the readiness of our teams ahead of the planned start of series production in 2027,” factory director Marc Gombeer told Slovak newspaper Pravda.

Factory workforce grows ahead of 2027 launch

Of the 1,000 production employees currently at the facility, 95% are Slovak. Volvo has also introduced new bus routes and a railway terminal to help employees commute to the factory.

Another 300 employees are expected to be hired by the end of 2026. Recruitment will continue through 2027, with the first phase of the project originally expected to require approximately 3,300 employees.

The facility represents a major expansion of Volvo’s European manufacturing footprint, but the company still has several stages to complete before customer vehicles begin rolling off the production line. The upcoming test-production phase will be used to validate the factory’s processes, technologies and workforce ahead of series production.

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