Courtesy of Volvo

Automotive company Volvo plans to close its bus manufacturing facility in Sweden and increase production at its plant in Wrocław, western Poland.

Volvo says its decision to concentrate bus production in Poland comes as a result of low demand and high competition in Europe.

“Demand for new buses in Europe has dropped steadily over the past few years, paralleled by considerable pressure on prices, particularly in the Nordic markets,” Hakan Karlsson, the president of Volvo Bus Corporation, said in a statement.

“The Wrocław factory will be the only facility in which we will manufacture whole buses,” said Helena Lind, media manager at Volvo Bus Corporation, Puls Biznesu reported.

“So far the Poland-based factory has worked at half capacity, now we will increase production volumes there, but are not going to increase employment, which now stands at 1,550 people,” she added.

Poland A.M.