South Carolina Daily Gazette By: David Wren
Volvo Cars temporarily halted production at its Lowcountry plant this week because of a parts shortage but said it had solved the problem by Friday afternoon.
“We have been working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and production will resume on Saturday,” a Volvo spokesperson said.
The brief shutdown, announced on Thursday, highlights the growing supply chain issues automakers nationwide are experiencing in the wake of President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs.
Volvo, which builds the all-electric EX90 sport-utility vehicle at its $1.2 billion plant in Ridgeville, did not specify the parts involved or where they come from.
While the vehicle is assembled in the U.S., its parts come from around the globe.
Between 20% and 25% of EX90 parts are made in America or Canada, while Mexico and China build 30% apiece and the car’s transmission is produced in Sweden, according to details required by the American Automotive Labeling Act.
“The EX90 has been quite heavily impacted by tariffs,” Fredrik Hansson, the automaker’s chief financial officer, said during an April 29 earnings call. He said there have been indications that some “component tariffs may be softened, but it remains a significant factor.”
The shutdown came on the heels of Volvo announcing layoffs affecting 5% of the plant’s workers, or roughly 125 people, and a global workforce reduction of 3,000 employees, most of them at the automaker’s Sweden headquarters.
The layoffs are part of nearly $2 billion in cost reductions Volvo is undertaking as tariffs have roiled global trade.
The EX90, with a list price of $79,995, is the only vehicle Volvo builds at its South Carolina factory. The plant also produces the battery powered Polestar 3 SUV for its sister brand.
The company has said it may add production of other vehicles at the Lowcountry site to offset tariffs on imported vehicles, which make up most of Volvo’s most popular sellers in the United States.
Trump has imposed 30% tariffs on all Chinese goods and 25% duties on foreign auto parts including those that don’t comply with the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.
U.S. Rep James Clyburn, D-S.C., took this week’s shutdown as an opportunity to blast Trump’s trade policies.
“Trump’s reckless tariffs are continuing to wreak havoc on South Carolina’s economy,” Clyburn posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Jobs have already been lost, and more are at grave risk.”
This isn’t the first time Volvo has temporarily paused production at the South Carolina plant.
The site was shut down several times during the pandemic when supply chain snarls affected parts shipments for the S60 sedan that was being built there at the time. Volvo stopped U.S. production of the S60 last year.
The EX90 is the flagship model in Volvo’s pledge to build an all-electric lineup, but its sales have lagged the brand’s other gas-powered and hybrid models.
Through April, Volvo sold 4,051 EX90s worldwide compared with sales topping 80,293 for its most popular XC60 mid-sized SUV.
All told, EX90 sales have made up about 1.8 percent of Volvo’s 231,100 global sales through April.
