5 million Volvos made in Ghent

Volvo Car Group’s plant in Ghent has marked the manufacturing of the five millionth car since it started operating in 1965, reports InAutoNews. The Volvo V40 D2 rolled off the assembly line in Ghent last month and the 5,000 plant employees signed their names on the car, which is on display today at the Brussels Motor Show. The Ghent plant has grown into Volvo’s largest in terms of the number of cars produced, according to Lars Wrebo, senior vice-president, manufacturing, at Volvo Car Group. “Since 2004, production has increased noticeably following our decision to focus production of Volvo’s smaller models here. Volvo Car Ghent will continue to be a cornerstone of our industrial structure,” he said. Over the past couple of years, Volvo Car Ghent has produced more cars than ever before. 2011 was a record year, with 265,000 cars built, and 2012 became the third-best year in the plant’s history, with 258,000 cars built. The plant makes three models. The Volvo XC60 was introduced in 2008 and is currently the best-selling Volvo globally. Since last year the Volvo V40 and its V40 Cross Country variant have also been built here, with the third model produced in Ghent being the Volvo S60, produced since 2010.