Mercedes-Benz announces the closure of its plant on Friday. The assembly plant, located in Charleston, employs 1,600 employees, producing Mercedes Sprinter and Metris vans for North America. The next fully electric Mercedes eSprinter is expected to be built at this plant in the second half of 2023.
Meanwhile, Volvo's plant in Ridgeville has also paused its operations starting at 11:00 a.m. EDT Thursday and will remain inoperational through Friday. The plant has 1,500 people in its employ and is building the Volvo S60. The Swedish automaker has invested $118 million in this plant to make fully electric vehicles for the US market.
"The safety of our employees and their families is our highest priority. Therefore, our Ridgeville plant halted operations at 11 a.m. and will remain closed through Friday" Volvo said in a statement.
Hurricane Ian hit Florida on Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane but has since weakened to a tropical storm. While it may have weakened, the hurricane regained Category 1 strength this Thursday evening. As of now, thehurricane is headed to South Carolina and has 75 mph (120 km/h) winds. It is expected to make landfall again on Friday.
There is another significant automobile plant in South Carolina, that of BMW. However, since it is situated near the considerably more northwestern city of Spartanburg, it is not within the danger zone.
Source: Automotive News
