V40 production starts at Volvo Cars in Ghent

Flemish Minister-president Kris Peeters CD&V enjoyed the honours  of driving the first V40 from the belt at Volvo Cars in Ghent yesterday. The Swedish carmaker plans to assemble a total of 800 000 cars at its four production plants by 2020, managing director Geert Bruyneel and Magnus Hellstein of Volvo Cars Manufacturing said at the launch of the first V40 yesterday.  According to Bruyneel, efforts to meet these targets will be concentrated at the factories in Ghent and Torslanda in Göteburg, with the plants at Chengdu and probably Daqing serving as additional production for China. “The fact that Ghent is chosen for new models shows that we will continue to grow and that Volvo Cars Gent will remain a stronghold of the Volvo Car Corporation in future,” the managers said and the trade unions echo their words. “When Volvo announced their previous target of 600 000 vehicles, nobody believed them, as they were not active in the Chinese market,” says Peter Desutter of the trade union BBTK. “Now growth is realistic and we will also benefit. To capture the few percentage points of market share in China it will probably take more than two factories, and if we can distribute 500 000 cars annually together with the Swedish plant, we will remain profitable.” Volvo hopes to sell 90 000 V40’s each year.
The peak production of 266 000 Volvo Cars Gent managed to achieve in 2011 must be repeated this year, says Bruyneel. The start of production for the new V40 marks a turn of events as it is the first vehicle to be built under the new Chinese Geely ownership and the first renewal of the range of models.  The new V40 is greener and its 1 600 cc diesel engine manages a CO2 emission of 94 grams per kilometre which, according to Volvo, will ensure “an overall benefit” of 200 euros gross per month. What sets it apart from any other vehicle in its class, is the standard addition of a pedestrian airbag and a unique system that protects pedestrians. This new runabout will set you back 22 990 euros and orders will be delivered in time after the summer holidays. “About 85% of the total volume is destined for Europe,” says Bart Crols, general manager of Volvo Cars Belgium. According to Volvo, the V40 is geared to play a key role in the market segment for premium hatchbacks which have no separate baggage compartment and are either 3- or 5-door. “After an absence of thirty years, we’re ready to capture the second biggest segment of the market,” Crols insists. Now that the V40 is being rolled out, production on the S40 and S50 will be halted. Last year Volvo Cars upped its employees by 500 to 5 500 and this year 250 temporary employees will receive a fixed contract. According to Peeters, the automobile industry, which contains 73 000 direct and indirect jobs in Flanders, is a key industry in the New Industrial Policy of the Government of Flanders.