The first 20,000 American-built Volvo XC60 crossovers will fill only about 13% of the annual capacity at the South Carolina plant. Not exactly a flood. But for Volvo, it's still a turning point: the brand's best-seller is finally heading to the local assembly line, even though this batch alone won't solve the factory's underutilization problem.
Serial production of the XC60 in Ridgeville, near Charleston, kicks off in late 2026, with a real ramp-up planned for 2027. Volvo confirmed these timelines back in July 2025, so this isn't exactly breaking news. According to preliminary data from Automotive News, the plant will build at least 20,000 units in its first year, starting with the mild-hybrid version running a 48-volt system.
Right now, the site assembles the electric Volvo EX90 and its twin, the Polestar 3. The plant's installed capacity sits at 150,000 vehicles a year, and Volvo's investment there has already topped $1.3 billion. Adding the far more mainstream XC60 shifts the whole logic of the facility — from leaning on pricey EVs to a mixed lineup where hybrids are expected to deliver steadier volume.
The model choice isn't hard to explain: the XC60 is Volvo's best-selling car ever, with more than 2.7 million units sold worldwide. In the US, it accounted for over a third of the brand's sales in the first half of 2025, and one in four XC60s sold was a plug-in hybrid.
Local assembly also shields Volvo from US tariffs on European-built cars. Still, 20,000 units is a drop in the bucket for a plant rated at 150,000. The next real test comes with the actual ramp-up pace in 2027 and Volvo's decision on when to start building the plug-in hybrid. Before 2030, Volvo says it will add one more hybrid model in Ridgeville — one designed specifically for the US market.
