Volkswagen Group Chairman Oliver Blume said on Wednesday local time that the company would not invest in a fourth electric vehicle for the time being due to “lower than expected” demand for electric vehicles in the European market. The decision was made on the location of the battery factory.
For the past year, Volkswagen has been looking for potential locations for its gigabit electric vehicle battery factory in Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. Among them, Czech officials said they had been working hard to get Volkswagen to build a factory in the country but later said they “could not wait any longer” and planned to provide this factory site to manufacturers from other countries.
Volkswagen Group has previously announced plans to open 6 Gigabit factories within this decade (2020-2030). The locations of three factories have been determined, respectively in Salzgitter, Germany, and Valencia, Spain. West Asia and St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Obermu has previously claimed that the three plants could produce up to 200-gigawatt hours per year.
▲ Picture source: Volkswagen
Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said orders for electric cars in Europe were down 50% compared to previous years, to 150,000 from 300,000 last year. Europe is currently Volkswagen’s largest market for electric vehicles, with local sales of Volkswagen’s pure electric models accounting for more than 60% of global sales. However, in China, the second largest market, Volkswagen is “facing risks.” Arno Antlitz bluntly said, “Volkswagen may lose market share in China before the launch of new cars in cooperation with Xpeng Motors.”
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