Volvo has been producing the European version of the EX30 in Belgium since April. Now it is gearing up the production of the model in its Ghent factory. Meanwhile, Volvo’s July sales were down again, 14% less than in the same period last year.
The production acceleration of the EX30 in Ghent is not only intended to circumvent customs duties on Chinese electric cars, but also to halve delivery times. Models for the US market will also come from the Belgian Volvo factory in the future.
Volvo has been reconsidering its strategy in light of EU tariffs on Chinese electric cars. Instead of continuing to import its small crossover from China and accepting tariffs of 28.8% instead of the previous 10%, the Swedish-Chinese carmaker has moved part of the production of the EX30 to Europe. The local version of the popular electric SUV model has been rolling off the production line at Volvo’s Belgian plant in Ghent since April.
Delivery times are too long
However, the tariffs, which were eating into the manufacturer’s margin on the EX30, are not the only reason for the change in strategy; in some cases, the waiting times were too long. In 2024, Swedish and German buyers had to wait up to eight months for their EX30; according to the configurator, the current delivery time is around seven months.
The manufacturer wants to speed up deliveries.. Once production in Ghent is fully ramped up, it should be reduced to just 90 days, according to Volvo’s European boss, Arek Nowinski, as reported by Automotive News. The Geely-owned Swedes expect to achieve this goal before the end of this year.
“The car is now being built in Europe, which means faster delivery times,” Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said to Automotive News Europe. The long waiting times were not only unpleasant for customers, but also hurt the manufacturer’s business.
Reserve stock needed
In 2024, the EX30 still ranked third in European electric car sales figures, but in the first half of 2025, it slipped to twelfth place in the ranking, according to analysts at Dataforce. The production changeover in Ghent is also said to have had a negative impact in the short term.
The entry-level model from Gothenburg, available from €38,990 in Belgium, immediately established itself as one of the manufacturer’s most important series. Last year, the EX30 was already in fourth place internally. Samuelsson is optimistic about the relocation of production to Europe: “We should return to the sales and market share figures for the EX30 that we had before the introduction of tariffs,” he added in the interview.
Volvo wants to build up reserve stock in the entry-level segment to increase availability and thus meet demand. While personally configured EX30s are only delivered after six months, some models that have already been produced are delivered to customers after just one week. “The cheaper the car, the more vehicles you need to have in stock,” said Arek Nowinski.
Also for the U.S.
However, the relocation of production to Belgium is intended to promote the brand not only on the European market, but also on the American market. The previous version is virtually unsellable due to US punitive tariffs of 147% on Chinese goods, which is why Volvo has not offered the EX30 there in recent months.
In contrast, the US now levies 15% tariffs on cars manufactured in Europe, which is why the version manufactured in Ghent is also expected to play a significant role on the American market in the future. Volvo also plans to launch the larger EX40 in 2026, which is also likely to be produced at the Belgian plant.
Sales are down again in July
Meanwhile, Volvo sales continue to be a lot lower than in 2024. This July, Volvo Cars sold a total of 49,273 units across all markets, down 14% compared to the same period last year.
Volvo’s electrified models, including both fully electric and plug-in hybrid models, accounted for 45% of all cars sold during July. This is a decrease of 21% compared to the same period last year.
The share of fully electric cars made up almost 22% of all vehicles sold for the month, while the share of plug-in hybrid models accounted for 23%. In July, the XC60 was the top-selling model with sales of 16,813 cars (2024: 15,577), followed by the XC40/EX40, with total sales of 12,087 vehicles (2024: 13,818), and the XC90 at 7,266 cars (2024: 8,146).
