The Flemish government has earmarked €119 million in subsidies to secure the Volvo Cars factory in Ghent, Belgium.
The funding, detailed in a declaration of intent sent by minister-president Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) to Volvo’s headquarters in Sweden, aims to encourage the carmaker to modernise the Ghent site.
Volvo Cars’ CEO Hakan Samuelsson has previously expressed concerns about the high costs of operating the Belgian facility. The Flemish government hopes this financial support will address those issues.
The subsidies include €30 million for investments in energy efficiency and circular production processes. Another €80 million, spread across ten years, is allocated to support innovation in areas such as battery technology and digitalisation.
A further €9 million is available for workforce training initiatives at the Ghent plant.
“This is not a blank cheque. The funding will only be provided once the investments are actually made,” Diependaele told the media.
