Europas größter Autobauer Volkswagen baut sein nächstes Batteriezellwerk in Nordamerika, genauer gesagt in Kanada. Das teilte VWs Batterietochter PowerCo am Montagnachmittag mit.Demnach soll die Anlage in der kanadischen Provinz Ontario in St. Thomas errichtet werden. Produktionsstart ist für 2027 angepeilt. Zu den Kosten und der Fertigungskapazität gab Volkswagen zunächst keine Details bekannt.VW hatte nach dem Treffen den Neubau eines Werks im US-Bundesstaat South Carolina für die Pick-up-Marke Scout verkündet. Die Entscheidung über ein Batteriezellwerk in Nordamerika stand jedoch noch aus.
VW-Chef Oliver Blume sagte nach Bekanntwerden der Entscheidung: Mit den Werken in Kanada und den USA „beschleunigen wir die Umsetzung unserer Nordamerika-Strategie“. Technikvorstand Thomas Schmall ergänzte, PowerCo sei mit der ersten Batteriezellfabrik außerhalb Europas „auf dem Weg, zu einem Global Player im Batteriegeschäft“ zu werden.
Kanada verfügt über wichtige Rohstoffe
Kanada ist eines der wenigen westlichen Länder, die über wichtige Batterierohstoffe wie Lithium, Nickel oder Kobalt verfügen. Im August und Dezember hatte VW deshalb mehrere Vereinbarungen zur Sicherung wichtiger Batterierohstoffe in dem Land geschlossen. Seither nannte Konzernchef Oliver Blume Kanada „eine logische Option“ in der Batteriefrage.
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Because the country has a free trade agreement with the USA, investments are also eligible for funding through the IRA climate program. In addition, VW customers in America receive tax breaks when buying a car that is equipped with batteries from the factory. At a presentation in Salzgitter shortly before the news broke, CTO Schmall described the IRA as a “great tailwind” for VW.
The construction of the factory itself is likely to be subsidized by the Canadian province. In January, several Volkswagen entries appeared in Ontario’s lobby register – the Handelsblatt reported. According to the documents, the province had offered “to support the project through investments and other incentive contributions.” CEO Blume appears personally in the register under number PP4740. In the meantime, further VW entries have been added to the database.
Volkswagen ID.4
The Chattanooga facility is over 1,000 kilometers away.
(Photo: AP)
A clear disadvantage of the Canadian location is the distance to VW’s production facilities in the region. The Chattanooga plant, where VW builds the ID.4, and the Scout plant in South Carolina, where up to 200,000 electric vehicles are to be built in 2026, are more than 1000 kilometers from St. Thomas. However, access to raw materials in Canada is significantly closer.
CTO Schmall emphasized that around 200 factors are taken into account when looking for a new location. “A decision for or against a location is always a mix of these factors.”
Difficult market for Volkswagen
North America has so far been a difficult market for Volkswagen. The sales figures have hardly changed for years. By 2030, VW intends to increase its market share in the region to ten percent and to do this primarily by relying on electric models. The carmaker is currently at almost four percent.
It is still unclear what consequences the decision will have for VW’s battery plans in Eastern Europe. At a meeting of the “European Battery Alliance” a few days ago, VW is said to have informed government representatives that corresponding plans were being paused for the time being. A person from the group of participants reported this to the Handelsblatt.
Board member Thomas Schmall emphasized in Salzgitter that battery issues in Europe are secured until 2028. A decision on the location in Eastern Europe is therefore not urgently on the agenda. VW is committed to its goal of providing production capacities of 240 GWh in Europe by 2030. The fact that one is now building in North America does not mean that one is canceling planned capacities elsewhere.
However, Europe’s largest automaker is likely to make its further timing dependent on what response Brussels finds to the US IRA subsidy package.
The European Commission is presenting its Net Zero Industry Act these days. This is intended to significantly ease funding policy in Europe and state a minimum amount for future investments.
According to a draft by the Commission, the EU wants to be able to produce 40 percent of its annual requirement for emission-free technologies by 2030. Wolfsburg should be looking forward to the exact design with excitement.
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