Volvo CE invests to boost electric excavator production capacity

Once complete the facility in South Korea will be approximately 2,500 sq. meters in size

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) has invested SEK80 million (US$7.8 million) into battery pack production at its excavator plant in Changwon, South Korea,

The investment will enable the building of a new production facility at the Changwon plant in South Korea. The plant – which is already the largest excavator production site in Volvo CE, producing around 55% of its total excavator volumes – is already 1.1 million square metres in size.

Once complete the facility will be approximately 2,500 sq. metres including assembly and logistics areas.

The new facility will produce a wide range of common electric storage solutions (battery packs) for Volvo Group and become a core competence center for electric excavators. This will enable Volvo Group to offer more sustainable solutions to its Asia-Pacific markets in a more flexible, cost-effective and agile way and will include supply chain, manufacturing and logistics.

“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,” said Andy Knight, head of operations excavator and MD of Volvo Group Korea.

“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.”

The new production facility will be built inside the current component workshop at Changwon – without disruption to the existing operation. The building work will begin in April 2023, with battery pack production expected to commence in June 2024.

Volvo CE recently announced investment in the production of electric wheeled loaders at its plant in Arvika, Sweden, and electric haulers from the company’s production facility in Braås, Sweden. The OEM has introduced compact electric excavators to the global market with the ECR25 Electric, ECR18 Electric, EC18 Electric and the mid-size EC230 Electric excavators.