Annual Assembly and Production of 13,000 Battery Packs
Volvo Group Korea, a construction machinery company, held an opening ceremony on the 23rd for the completion of the Volvo Group battery pack production facility, the first of its kind established in Asia, at its Changwon plant in Gyeongnam.
A Volvo Group Korea official takes a photo to commemorate the establishment of the battery pack production facility at the Changwon plant / [Photo by Volvo Group Korea]
The battery pack production facility at the Changwon plant was built with an initial investment of approximately 10 billion KRW (7.8 million USD) from Volvo Group headquarters to Volvo Group Korea in February last year. After about a year of construction, it was completed within the component production facility of Volvo Group Korea’s Changwon plant, covering an area of approximately 2,500㎡.
Through this, the company has established the largest battery pack production line among domestic construction machinery manufacturers. With the completion of the battery pack production facility, Volvo Group Korea’s Changwon plant has transformed into a key base that not only produces 55% of the world’s Volvo excavators but also plays a central role in implementing the group’s electrification roadmap.
Following the establishment of a mass production line for electric excavators in April 2022, Volvo Group Korea will now produce its own electric fuel solutions with the completion of this battery pack production facility. This will reduce logistics costs and time associated with battery imports, as well as carbon emissions. The company plans to mass-produce the next-generation electric excavator EC230 model equipped with self-produced battery packs starting in August.
The products produced at the battery pack production facility are 90-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery packs made with Samsung SDI lithium-ion cells. The company plans to supply an electric power capacity of 1,188 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually through the assembly and production of approximately 13,000 battery packs per year.
The main markets are global regions including North America and Europe, and in the future, battery packs produced at the Changwon plant will also be used in Volvo trucks and other Volvo Group products. Volvo Group Korea plans to gradually increase production volume through investments in automation equipment and facility expansion according to domestic and international demand.
Andrew Knight, CEO of Volvo Group Korea, said, "With the completion of the battery pack production facility, efficient and rapid production and distribution of electric fuel solutions have become possible." He added, "Going forward, Volvo Group Korea’s Changwon plant will continue to serve as a core production base for Volvo excavators worldwide and as an outpost for Volvo Group’s electrification roadmap, contributing to meeting the demand for electrified equipment in Europe, North America, and advanced markets."
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