Volvo Cars selected Berkeley County, S.C., as the location of its first American factory. The company will invest up to $500 million in the facility, which will have an initial capacity of 100,000 cars per year. Construction will begin in early autumn 2015, with the first vehicles expected to roll off the assembly line in 2018. The new plant, located outside of Charleston, will make latest-generation Volvo models for sale in the U.S. and for export. It also forms part of an ambitious medium-term expansion plan to double global sales, boost market share and lift profitability. Volvo Cars estimates that the factory will employ up to 2,000 people over the next decade and up to 4,000 people in the longer term.