Volvo announced it will start building the XC60 SUV right here in America. It’s one of Volvo’s hottest commodities, comprising 33% of all sales in the U.S. It recently overtook the classic 240 as the best-selling Volvo ever. (It must be the windshield wipers.) Volvo already builds the XC60 in China and Malaysia for local markets, so it makes sense to do the same thing here.
It’s likely no coincidence that this news comes hot on the heels of a $1.2 billion hit due, in part, to tariffs on imported vehicles. The primary XC60 factory is in Torslanda, Sweden. The latest in the revolving door of tariffs is a 30% tariff on auto imports from the European Union, of which Sweden is a part, starting August 1. This is bad news for Volvo’s best-selling model, especially after Volvo’s operating profit dropped 60% in the first quarter of 2025.
American-made Volvos
Starting in late 2026, Volvo will start building the XC60 at its factory in Ridgeville, South Carolina, just outside Charleston. The plant also builds the EX90, as well as Polestar 3 SUVs. The EX90 has had some problems of its own with buggy software, which Volvo says has also contributed to its financial problems. Those bugs likely aren’t contagious, as the XC60 rides on a different platform.
While the bread-and-butter XC60 is perhaps a step down from these newer, shinier models, the Ridgeville plant also built the S60 before switching to the EX90. The factory clearly has some extra capacity right now, with just 7,797 EX90s sold this year as of Volvo’s June sales report compared to 120,407 XC60s. Building it here will not only help the company avoid tariffs but also keep American workers employed. Despite loopholes big enough to ship jet engines through, auto tariffs seem to be having the desired effect of protecting American manufacturing, just this once.
