Volvo EX30 Made In Belgium May Still Be Affordable. Here’s Why

Despite moving some production away from China, affordability is still in sight for the EX30, CEO Jim Rowan indicated.

Volvo EX30

Suvrat Kothari

By: Suvrat Kothari

Sep 5, 2024 at 11:30am ET

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The EX30 is Volvo's take on an affordable electric hot hatch, with up to 275 miles of estimated range and 455 horsepower.
Models that will arrive in the U.S. next year will be made in Belgium, instead of China, due to the hefty tariffs levied on Chinese-made EVs.
CEO Jim Rowan indicated that European production won't necessarily impact affordability as Volvo may save on logistics and inventory holding costs.

The Volvo EX30 was one of the most awaited models of this year in the U.S., until it got delayed. A small electric car starting at $35,000 promised to do big Volvo things, like safety and performance.

Production at parent company Geely’s factory in China was key to achieving that price tag. But then the U.S. and Europe slapped hefty tariffs on Chinese-made cars earlier this year, compelling Volvo to shift EX30 production for some export markets to its factory in Ghent, Belgium. We no longer knew if the U.S. models would be affordable.

But there may be some reasons to be hopeful. During a roundtable with reporters at Volvo’s global headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, CEO Jim Rowan shared some insights on how the EX30’s Belgium production would affect its U.S. prices.

Gallery: 2025 Volvo EX30 First Drive

2025 Volvo EX30 First Drive

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2025 Volvo EX30 First Drive

He sounded optimistic, indicating that margins on cars made in China weren’t hugely different from those made in Belgium and that there was room to save on logistics and transportation since Europe is much closer to the U.S. than China is.

“You have 10% of the [car’s cost] to play with in terms of logistics,” Rowan said. “So you take away that logistics cost and you also get much closer to the customer, so you don't have an inventory holding cost.”

He then added, “...we expect to have by and large the same gross margin from the product produced in Belgium as we do in the product produced and shipped from China.” Rowan claimed Volvo was within 15-20% of gross margin on the EX30 and even after moving production to Ghent, it would still be "within that operating range."

That may not translate into Volvo hitting the $35,000 price tag initially promised, but it sounds like the EX30 probably won't cost substantially more. This may help calm some hopeful EX30 buyers out there. Affordability is key when it comes to electric cars and Volvo’s new model is already delivering on that front in Europe.

Volvo EX30

Volvo had a great second quarter for electrified sales in Europe, as customers welcomed the EX30 en masse.

As per Jato Dynamics data, it was the third most registered EV in Europe in the first half of 2024 with 36,980 registrations, only behind the Tesla Model Y (101,181 registrations) and Model 3 (58,400 registrations). Now we'll have to see if it can replicate that success when it arrives in the U.S. next year.

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Most of EX30’s production was supposed to happen at Geely Group’s factory in Zhangjiakou, China. Volvo announced last year that the Ghent factory, where the XC40 and C40 are also made, would help add some additional capacity for the EX30 for Europe and global export markets.

The EV gets a 69 kilowatt-hour battery pack offering up to 275 miles of range on a single charge. It will also be a proper electric performance hatch, with the all-wheel-drive trim good for 455 horsepower and a 0-60 miles per hour time of 3.4 seconds. It’s production at the Ghent factory will begin in the first half of 2025.