Volkswagen
The car company wants to expand its business to North America.
(Photo: Reuters)
Volkswagen is expanding its collaboration with partner Umicore for its battery plans in Canada. A strategic supply agreement for cathode material for the future cell production of the battery subsidiary PowerCo in North America had been concluded with the Belgian materials technology group, the Wolfsburg-based company announced on Thursday. At the same time, the group is starting to look for a location for its first battery cell factory outside of Europe.
Canada is “a logical option,” said CEO Oliver Blume. “The country offers high sustainability standards and ideal economic conditions, and the Canadian government has already proven to be a strong and reliable partner.”
This is just the beginning, Blume said. The electric vehicle market in North America is at an inflection point. Volkswagen is determined to invest across the region to seize this historic opportunity. The search for a location is interesting given that the USA has created incentives for investments in its own country with the so-called Inflation Reduction Act and other industrial policy measures.
Volkswagen had already signed a declaration of intent on raw materials with Canada during Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Canada in August. This has now been extended by an additional agreement to determine suitable locations for a cell factory in Canada.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and be notified by email.
In September, the Lower Saxony company agreed to build up production capacity for battery material for electric cars with Umicore. The joint venture is to supply the battery cells of the VW subsidiary PowerCo in Europe with key materials.
More: Electric cars are coming much faster than planned – small cars are also planned