It’s been just seven years since our colleagues at the production plant in Ghent, Belgium assembled our first XC40. On October 9, 2024, the 1,000,000th XC40/EX40 rolled off the production line. This is a milestone that demonstrates the continued success of our multi-purpose premium SUV and expresses our strategy to build our cars where we sell them.

“Today we passed a very important milestone in the history of Volvo Car Gent and I am proud to announce that we have produced our 1,000,000th XC40/EX40,” said Stefan Fesser, Gent Plant Manager. “With our specialized and well-trained team, we are delivering on our electrification strategy, as evidenced by the fact that we have already built more than 175,000 pure electric versions of this model.”

The Volvo XC40, the first compact premium SUV we’ve ever built, was unveiled in September 2017 at a special event in Milan, Italy. It became an instant best-seller, winning the prestigious European Car of the Year award for 2018 – the first Volvo model in history to achieve this distinction.

From 2020 onwards, the XC40 began to be available in an all-electric version as well. Being the first fully electric Volvo to be produced on a large scale, it paved the way for Volvo Cars to become one of the pioneers in the premium electric segment. The car is designed to be constantly improved through over-the-air updates, while being equipped with electric motors developed by Volvo Cars.

Earlier this year, the all-electric XC40 was renamed the EX40, as part of our strategy to align the names of our all-electric cars. The last plug-in hybrid version of the XC40 was built last year, while the XC40 name is retained on the mild hybrid version, which is still in production.

Since its launch, the XC40 has been among our three best-selling models. In 2023, the XC40 was our second best-selling model (behind only the XC60 mid-size SUV), a position it retains for the first nine months of 2024.

Today, the EX40 is one of five all-electric cars we have on the market, and with five more all-electric models in development, we continue to work towards our full electrification. By 2030, we aim for 90% of all Volvos sold worldwide to be plugged in. The remaining 10% will represent a limited number of mild hybrids if needed.

Beginning of a new era

The launch of the XC40 was the beginning of a new era for Ghent. We have made significant investments to transform Volvo Car Gent into a global export hub.

We continue to invest in the Ghent plant, upgrading it to start producing the popular all-electric EX30 from early 2025. This is part of a significant long-term investment commitment in Europe.