Volvo spending £800 million to make electric cars like Tesla

Volvo is investing £800 million at its Torslanda manufacturing plant in Sweden and introducing ‘Megacasting’ for car bodies – just like Tesla.

Volvo is planning to be producing only electric cars by 2030, and has announced it will spend £800 million in the coming years to turn its Torslanda manufacturing plant in Sweden in to the best EV-building Plant it can be, and with more than a bit of inspiration from Tesla.

That Tesla inspiration comes in the form of aluminium Mega Casting, used to produce the Model Y, which stamps out huge components – a bit like a massive die-cast car – instead of bolting, glueing and welding multiple components together.

For Tesla, that meant a single mega casting reducing the number of components from 70 to a single unit, a process Volvo says will reduce manufacturing complexity, reduce weight and cost and improve performance. It will also give designers more freedom. 

Other changes in the pipeline funded by this new investment include the addition of a new battery assembly plant which will integrate the cells in to the floor structure of cars, a refurbished logistics area and an upgraded paint shop.

Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo CEO, said:

With these investments, we take an important step towards our all-electric future and prepare for even more advanced and better electric Volvos. Torslanda is our largest plant and will play a crucial role in our ongoing transformation as we move towards becoming a pure electric car maker by 2030.