Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson wants the automaker to get more out of its $1.1 billion U.S. factory, as well as create a natural hedge against the Trump administration’s higher tariffs.

To do that, Samuelsson says Volvo will add production of a high-volume hybrid at its plant in Ridgeville, S.C.

“It has to be a car with mild-hybrid and plug-in versions to really bring up the volumes,” he told Automotive News Europe on April 29 after Volvo reported disappointing first-quarter results and announced an 18 billion Swedish crown ($1.87 billion) cost-cutting program.

When asked if the model would be the XC60 or XC90, Samuelsson said, “good guess.”

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“A wagon or a sedan is not very likely. I think if you look at what the bestsellers are in the U.S., they are often some kind of SUV,” Samuelsson said, adding that he plans to travel to the U.S. soon to speak with dealers about which vehicle would make the most sense to add.

Volvo ended production of the SPA-based S60 midsize sedan last year, but it still has the tooling to make cars using that platform, which underpins both the XC60 and XC90 SUVs as well.

Samuelsson also plans to ask dealers in North America to boost sales of the only Volvo model currently made in the U.S., the EX90 full-electric large SUV. “We need to sell that more aggressively,” he said.

It is all part of Samuelsson’s plan to give his team in North America more autonomy to better address local demands because he believes regionalization is replacing globalization.

Currently, 90 percent of the cars Volvo sells in the U.S. are built in Europe.

“We cannot bring in cars from Europe and just believe they will sell them,” he said.

New leader for enlarged region

To lead the change, Volvo has named Luis Rezende as head of the newly created Americas region, which will include the U.S., Canada and Latin America. Rezende was president of the company’s operations in Latin America.

He replaces Michael Cottone, Volvo’s U.S. and Canada president, who will leave the company.

As part of a reorganization announced April 29, Volvo will focus on three regions:

• Americas
• Greater China
• Europe and the rest of the world.

Samuelsson said Rezende is the “right guy to energize America and make it more autonomous and … track toward much higher volumes in the future.”

Samuelsson, who succeeded Jim Rowan as CEO on April 1, declined to say when Volvo will pick the additional model for the U.S. factory or to indicate when production could start, but he wants to move fast.

“It should be rather quick if we’re going to have an effect on the utilization because we have people there who need something to do,” he said. “With the tariffs, it has been even more negative because the option there for exporting is not as clear anymore.”

Volvo is already adjusting its U.S. lineup. A person familiar with Volvo’s plans said the company is expected to cancel U.S. orders of the China-made S90 next year. Volvo sold 1,364 S90s in the U.S. in 2024.

Discontinuing the S90 in the U.S. would take Volvo out of the country’s shrinking sedan market.

The automaker also is reacting to the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported vehicles by reducing incentives on inventory already at U.S. dealerships.

The person familiar with Volvo’s plans said the company will focus on its highest-volume nameplates — the XC90, XC60 and XC40 crossovers — in the U.S.

President Donald Trump on April 9 announced a 125 percent tariff on Chinese-made goods, including autos. That is five times the 25 percent levies instituted April 3 on vehicles built in all other countries. Administration officials said vehicle tariffs would remain in place even after Trump paused so-called reciprocal duties on most other countries.