Volvo Opens Manufacturing Plant in China, Will Export Vehicles to U.S.

Multinational corporation Volvo is opening a new factory in China this week with plans to sell its electric vehicles to American consumers.

Despite President Trump’s telling corporations looking to sell products in the U.S. market to move production out of China, Volvo’s Polestar opened a new manufacturing plant in Chengdu, China, according to the Associated Press.

At the Chinese plant, Polestar will manufacture a two-door, gasoline-electric hybrid coupe known as the “Polestar 1” that will feature a carbon-fiber body. Polestar executives said the corporation is looking to sell the made-in-China hybrid in the U.S. market to American consumers next year.

The plan to open the manufacturing plant in China comes as Volvo executives have long lobbied the Trump administration not to impose 25 percent auto tariffs that experts have said are necessary after years of automakers moving production out of the U.S. to then export their products back into the country.

Last year, Volvo Cars Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson told Reuters that the corporation wanted boundless free trade with zero tariffs on foreign imports.

“If you have trade barriers and restrictions, we cannot create as many jobs as we are planning to,” Samuelsson said.

In November, the Trump administration is set to announce whether or not it will impose a tariff on foreign auto imports, just a year after General Motors (GM) CEO Mary Barra announced that she would close four American manufacturing plants while keeping Mexico and China production steady. Already, Barra has shuttered plants in Lordstown, Ohio and Warren, Michigan — laying off thousands of Americans with thousands more in supporting industries to lose their jobs as well.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.