Volvo EX30 delayed until 2025 in US due to tariffs

• Volvo’s newest model, the EX30 small electric crossover has been delayed until 2025
• Volvo cited tariffs imposed by the U.S. on EVs made in China, where the EX30 was set to be produced
• Volvo accelerated the shift in production away from China to its factory in Ghent, Belgium

The Volvo EX30 small electric crossover will not arrive for the U.S. market this summer, as originally planned. On Wednesday, Volvo Car USA told dealers that deliveries have been delayed until 2025. 

Volvo said it will offer customers with preorders unspecified options to drive other new Volvos until the most affordable vehicle in Volvo’s stable arrives.

Originally, the base EX30 Core with a single motor and rear-wheel drive was priced at $36,245, including destination. That made it one of the most affordable EVs except for the Nissan Leaf. In testing of March this year, the fun-sized hatch felt like a deal too good to be true. The dual-motor AWD Ultra topped the lineup at $47,895. 

Volvo spokesperson Russell Datz cited reasons beyond Volvo’s control for the delay. 

“There have been a lot of changes in the global automotive landscape since we made the announcement (late in 2023),” Datz told EV kind of cars in a phone interview. “Tariffs did play a role in that decision.”

Last year, Volvo planned to shift production of the affordable EV from China to Ghent, Belgium, starting in 2025. That was before the Biden administration announced in May 2024 a hike in EV tariffs from 25% to 100%. The tariff on lithium-ion batteries and other critical elements in the battery parts supply chain increases from 7.5% to 25%. 

In another salvo aimed at cheap electric cars from China flooding the global market, the European Union last week proposed a 38% tariff on imports of EVs from China. 

Currently, there is no domestically produced EV with a starting price as low as what was planned with the EX30. 

As Volvo accelerates its production ramp in Ghent, the delivery date for the EX30 in the U.S. is sometime in 2025. There are no plans for domestic production, such as at the Swedish brand’s plant in Charleston, South Carolina, that started producing the 2025 Volvo EX90 electric three-row crossover SUV in June. 

Volvo could not commit on if the EX30 would still be badged a 2025 model when it eventually arrives.