Volvo to make S60 passenger car in SC

Volvo officials announced Friday that their popular S60 luxury sedan will be built excluslively at the company’s Berkeley County plant.

Production of the vehicle should begin in 2018. The cars will be exported around the world.

Volvo executive Lex Kerssemaker joined Gov. Nikki Haley in making the announcement. The event was held under soaring white tents beside a vast muddy field near Ridgeville, where the plant will be built.

The facility, to be built on 575 acres, is expected to employ 4,000 people. Another 322 acres are marked for expansion in about a decade.

The company should begin hiring in late 2017 with the bulk of workers coming in 2018.

Volvo received $204 million in incentives from the state and Santee Cooper, the state-owned electric utility. The incentives include a new interchange and road widening on I-26 to improve access to the plant.

Edmunds.com called the 2015 Volvo S60 “a well-balanced and stylish luxury sedan. As such, it makes for a very tempting alternative to the ubiquitous German luxury sedans.”

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 1:35 PM.