The carmaker Volkswagen drives the changeover with the laying of the foundation stone for its first battery factory in Salzgitter electric cars Ahead. “In future we will take all relevant fields into our own hands and thus secure a strategic competitive advantage in the race for the pinnacle of e-mobility,” explained VW technology boss Thomas Schmall
(58) on Thursday in the presence of the Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (64) and Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (63). Schmall had already spoken to manager magazin in advance commented on VW’s electric offensive
.
Salzgitter is said to be the blueprint for cell factories throughout Europe. By 2030, the Volkswagen Group wants to operate six battery plants in Europe together with partners with a total output of 240 gigawatt hours.
The change to electromobility In the opinion of the VW works council leadership, this can be done without major job losses. “This profound change in our industry does not have to end in dramatic breaks,” said the head of the employee representative body, Daniela Cavallo (47), during the laying of the foundation stone in Salzgitter. While jobs in classic areas are likely to decrease more and more in the medium term, 5,000 jobs in cell production are to be added at the site. According to VW plans, there will be up to 20,000 jobs worldwide. The project is “a prime example of ecological and social transformation,” said Cavallo.
Politicians are also confident. Volkswagen is showing what the sustainable and climate-friendly future of mobility could look like, explained Scholz. “Today is a good day for the automotive industry in Germany and Europe.”
In July, the new VW company “PowerCo” was launched, which is to lead the battery business worldwide. Together with partner companies, this is to invest more than twenty billion euros in the development of the business area by 2030 and turn over twenty billion euros a year.