Ghent, Belgium - Volvo has built its four-millionth car at its manufacturing facility in Ghent, Belgium. The milestone model, a V50 R-design, was ordered by a customer from Breda, Netherlands.

Volvo has been building cars in Belgium since 1965, initially to avoid the country’s high import taxes on assembled vehicles. Over the years, the Ghent facility has become one of the company’s two main factories, along with the Torslanda plant in Göteborg, Sweden. The Ghent facility has more than 4,000 employees and built approximately 200,000 vehicles in 2007.

The facility’s first model was the Volvo 120, also known as the Amazon; today, it builds the C30, S40, V50 and S60, and in a few weeks will begin assembly of the new XC60 crossover, which will launch in Canada in the first half of 2009. The factory achieved its one-million milestone in 1988, two million in 1997, and three million in 2004.