Anyone excited to get behind the wheel of the Volvo EX30 they preordered must wait an extra spell. In an email to stakeholders, the brand said they’re shifting the target date to 2025 – and it has much to do with Biden’s new import tariffs on EVs built in China.
Put simply, Volvo needs time to ramp up production of the EX30 at their facility in Belgium. Known as the Ghent plant, it was always slated to produce a few examples of the EX30 to help meet demand in Europe plus provide support for ‘global export’ obligations. As of late last year, Volvo indicated the XC40 and C40 were also assembled at the same facility. How a ratcheting of EX30 volume will affect those models is currently unclear.
Interestingly, spox for the brand directly addressed the pickle in which those with EX30 preorders in hand now find themselves.
“We’ll offer customers with existing preorders several options to drive a new Volvo until their EX30 arrives,” they said. No further details were immediately available but it sounds like the brand plans to install customers behind the wheel of something with a Volvo badge lest they drop their preorder and switch to another brand.
We’ll let you slug it out in the comments what might be offered as an interim solution. XC40? That’s a gasser. EX90? That’s electric but comparatively enormous. We look forward to learning what Volvo has in the hopper for this conundrum. Whatever the plan, and however much it costs, it seems the brand is committed to bringing the EX30 to market in America.
“The EX30 remains a cornerstone of Volvo Cars’ ongoing strategic transformation,” read a statement, “and reflects our ambition to build cars where we sell them as much as possible.”
Speaking of costs, we openly wonder if this change in production plans will cause the EX30 base price to rise in this country. Originally, pegged at $36,245 it represented a very strong value play and is a big part of the model’s selling proposition. With this delay, there’s an excellent chance a new crop of small EVs will be on the market or close to introduction, such as the Kia EV3 and new Chevy Bolt with Ultium guts.
[Images: Volvo]
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