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Volvo Cars has delayed the start of production at its new Slovak factory until early 2027

Volvo Cars, according to a spokesperson on Thursday, has delayed the large-scale production of its factory in Slovakia from 2026 until early 2027 to optimize the Swedish automaker’s product launch schedule.

The Gothenburg-based firm, owned by China’s Geely Holding, hasn't made it public which model will be manufactured at the Kosice plant, except to say that it will be next-generation Volvo.

The spokesperson declined to say when the decision was made, but said that it had not been taken recently.

Polestar, which is also owned by Geely and will begin production of its new Polestar 7 SUV in Kosice, Poland, starting 2028.

The factory is expected to produce 250,000 vehicles annually.

Hakan Samuelsson, the new CEO of Volvo Cars in April, said that the automaker would be reviewing the cars it planned to build at the factory and preferred to build cars for Geely as well.

Samuelsson, an analyst in April, said: "We have to take a closer look at the possibilities of bringing in other Geely brand there." Shared plant "would be really good for us, because it's an expense that must be carried by the production volume of the factory."

Samuelsson, now back at the helm of the Swedish automaker has implemented a number big changes, including the elimination of 3,000 white collar jobs, the launch of a cost cutting programme, and the slowing down investment. Marie Mannes is the reporter. Nick Carey is the writer. (Editing by Mark Potter and Susan Fenton)

(source: Reuters)