Report: NC, Volvo in talks on auto plant
Volvo is said to be looking at North Carolina – and any incentives it might get – for a plant as the Swedish car maker angles for a resurgence in the United States, according a report Wednesday in the British newspaper Financial Times.
The publication cited two unnamed sources claiming knowledge of company plans to establish a new U.S. manufacturing site.
It follows the appointment of a new American-market chief who would, according to the newspaper’s sources, oversee the facility’s opening as the company looks to recover from slipping U.S. sales.
Volvo has talked with the legislatures of states including Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina about incentives that may be available for the project, the sources claimed.
Efforts to reach the offices of the governor and other state leaders to discuss the report were not successful. A spokeswoman for Senate leader Phil Berger said she had not heard of the prospect.
Incentivizing business has been a major focus lately for Gov. Pat McCrory, who has repeatedly argued North Carolina needs a fresh and competitive incentives program that he can flaunt to large-scale companies considering North Carolina for expansion. That’s as the state’s Job Development Investment Grant depletes.
Volvo’s presence in North Carolina includes its Volvo Trucks North American corporate headquarters in Greensboro. It has a truck assembly plant in Dublin, Va., about two hours north of Greensboro.
McCrory was in the United Kingdom last week on a job recruiting trip along with new Commerce Sec. John Skvarla. A spokesman for the governor has declined to be more specific about that trip.
Asked specifically whether the recent trip relates to Volvo, spokesman Josh Ellis responded: “It was an economic development trip.”
The McCrory administration has been clear that it is on the hunt for a “catalyst-for-jobs” factory along the lines of an auto plant. Automakers are widely forecast to be adding production capacity. ( Read more here.)
The state has at least three sites in various stages of readiness for an auto plant, including one near Siler City.
On Wednesday, Volvo named Lex Kerssemakers as chief of Volvo Cars of North America. He will be based in New Jersey.
Here’s a summary of news reports on the move:
This story was originally published January 22, 2015 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Report: NC, Volvo in talks on auto plant."