In recent days, various reports have emerged stating that the Volkswagen Group has approved the construction of a new battery factory for electric cars in Valencia. Official sources deny that this is the case.
Last February 23, The Automotive Tribune claimed that the Volkswagen Group had approved the future location of a battery factory for electric cars in the Valencian town of Sagunto.
This location, specifically in Parc Sagunt II, would house a factory with a 40 GWh capacity that would also supply material to the Ford factory located in Almussafeswhich also chooses to stay with the award of several electric models of the American firm in order to guarantee its survival.
“The decision depends on different criteria, including the potential support of the Government”
However, when Motor.es contacted the Volkswagen Group in Spain, it has pointed out that “no final decision has been made about the plant”although it points out that, “as you know, we have a general interest in establishing an electric vehicle value chain in Spain”.
PERTE and the Government are the key
In addition, the Volkswagen Group assures that for this type of business initiatives to be carried out, government support will be vital through programs such as PERTE, recently approved and waiting to be launched.
“The decision depends on different technical, economic and logistical criteria, including the potential support of the Government”, say official sources. “As a first step, SEAT SA and the Volkswagen Group plan to present themselves to PERTE once the Spanish Government opens the call,” they reiterate.
Therefore, it is unlikely that anything official will be announced until the PERTE is well defined and the investment necessary to undertake a project of this magnitude is well tied.
“We will announce the corresponding plans in due course.. Until that time, we will not make any further comments, “reiterate official sources of the Volkswagen Group.
Spain is currently in a delicate situation in relation to the future of the automotive sectoras production and sales have dropped as a result of the pandemic and other difficulties such as the microchip crisis.
This is coupled with the need to lay the foundations for a competitive environment for the sector in our country, since it must be prepared to convince the brands that Spain is an ideal place to embark on the production of electric carsa strategy that forces brands to invest large amounts of money that will not materialize without the active collaboration of the State.