Volvo will bring several thousand jobs.
Fifth car manufacturer
Swedish car manufacturer Volvo will be the fifth car manufacturer in Slovakia. The industrial park will be located in the village of Valaliky near the metropolis of the East. It will be unique in the production of electric vehicles, which represent the future of the automotive industry. This was officially announced by the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic together with the Prime Minister, representatives of Volvo Cars and the managing director of the Valaliky Industrial 1 industrial park. July 2022 at a press conference where the contract sealing the investment was signed.
It will start on the year
The investment is worth €1.2 billion. The state will contribute €267 million. The purchase of the land on which the industrial park will be built will be completed in February next year. Construction will begin in 2023 and the production lines will be installed the following year. Series production of electric vehicles should become actual in 2026. Volvo plans to produce 250,000 cars during the year. The company’s vision is to produce all-electric cars by 2030. The first jobs are to be created in 2025.
Volvo in our country – third European plant
The plant near Košice will be the third Volvo plant to come to Europe after 60 years. The first is located in the motherland of Torsland and the second in Ghent, Belgium. Volvo’s ambition is to use environmentally friendly and climate-neutral processes to produce cars in Valhalla.
Favourable conditions
The reason why the investors decided to choose Košice is the convenient logistic connection with the rest of Europe and the developed network of suppliers. Volvo will contribute to improving the social and economic situation in the east of our country. According to the Minister of Economy, its arrival will reduce the abysmal differences between the region and other parts of Slovakia. Many direct and downstream jobs will be created. The factory itself will provide jobs for 3 300 people. A total of over 13,000 new jobs are expected to be created as other jobs will be provided by subcontracting companies. In addition to the initial manufacturing jobs, positions will be created in areas such as logistics, administration, and economics.
The arrival of Volvo in eastern Slovakia means an influx of thousands of jobs to the region.
Opportunity for the East
As the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family said, the region of eastern Slovakia, which is notorious for its high unemployment rate, will gain well-paid and promising jobs. The arrival of Volvo will significantly reduce the unemployment rate and, in turn, improve the quality of life of the people living in the region. It turns out that one automotive manufacturing job in our country creates an additional six jobs.
A chance for our economy
With electric cars, this is a long-term prospect. The arrival of the investment means a change in the lives of thousands of people and their families. According to the Prime Minister, the focus of the carmaker on the production of electric vehicles is a great benefit for our economy. We will strengthen our global leadership in the number of cars produced per capita. It is estimated that the construction of the new factory will increase the gross domestic product by 1.3% annually. The automotive industry accounts for almost half of our production and exports.
Volvo marks total development
The Valaliky industrial park has a rich area of approximately 280 hectares, which may be supplemented by the production of car batteries in the future. The billion-dollar investment will make the region more attractive in terms of jobs, housing and other opportunities. With the creation of Volvo, 25,000 rental apartments are planned to be built in Košice to house its employees. By the end of 2028, Košice public transport is to be extended by additional lines. Košice self-governing region wants to build a new road III. class, which will be in the vicinity of the industrial park, and to repair the already existing road connections. The county is considering introducing new high school courses that would link theory with practice, allowing graduates to find employment in the new car plant.
