Gothenburg – a leader in e-mobility

1 June 2023

Global corporations create attractiveness and visionary startups make the industry bubble with innovative solutions to complex problems. It concerns transport of both people and goods – from heavy vehicles that move over long distances, to micro mobility in urban environments.

Frontrunner in sustainability

We are of course talking about the Volvo Group and Volvo Cars – Sweden's two largest companies, both headquartered here. They are transforming their operations towards electrification and fossil-free. The city is also the European R&D base for Chinese Geely.

“But we are also referring to fast-growing companies such as the electric car challenger Polestar, headquartered in Gothenburg, and the sharing pioneer Lynk & Co, the logistics innovator Einride and Northvolt, which is building a gigafactory in Gothenburg together with Volvo Cars. The region has 40,000 employees in the automotive industry and accounts for 98 per cent of the country's passenger car industry,” says Henrik Einarsson, Director of Establishments and Investments, Business Region Göteborg.

Add to that Heart Aerospace which, backed by global players, is developing an entire industry around electric regional aircraft, and, for instance, the electric bicycle producer Ecoride.

The city is at the same time the hub for Swedish exports and Sweden's logistics capital. The Port of Gothenburg is the Nordic region's largest and most important port. There, the Nordics' first public charging and hydrogen station for heavy traffic opened in 2022, and electric trucks get priority passage. Stena Line plans to deploy the world's first fossil-free RoPax ship route here before 2030.

Master of collaboration

Gothenburg is known for its trams, while also hosting the largest fleet of electric buses in the Nordics. The City of Gothenburg is pushing for the establishment of an electric, emission-free vehicle fleet for all transport in the region, more aggressively than other Swedish cities.

Internationally, Gothenburg is also seen as a forerunner in sustainability, which the EU has selected in its commitment to climate-neutral cities in 2030. The region, with its open innovation environments, a long tradition of collaboration, its universities and science parks, attracts global companies to invest in research and development. The region has also overtaken the Stockholm region in terms of companies' investments in R&D in absolute terms (twice as much per employed person), and the level of investment in electromobility is a key driver of this. This has made the city a hotspot for Swedish innovation.

Distinctive for Gothenburg is the progressive business climate, which is characterized by openness, curiosity and the courage to test.

“Our public and private actors have a long tradition of collaboration and a genuine desire to create change for the better together – and out of this create profitable international business,” says Maria Strömberg, Director of Clusters and Innovation at Business Region Göteborg.

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