Volkswagen announced on March 13 that it is going to build the first overseas battery cell plant in Ontario, Canada. The plant will be stablished through VW's battery subsidiary PowerCo.
According to the carmaker's statement, the plant will produce sustainable unified cells with the start of production planned for 2027. It will be the third Group-owned plant worldwide and PowerCo's first cell factory in North America.
The other two Group-owned plants are located in Salzgitter, Germany and Valencia, Spain.
Oliver Blume, CEO of VW Group said, "Our North American strategy is a key priority in our 10-point-plan that we have ve laid out last year. With the decisions for cell production in Canada and a Scout site in South Carolina we are fast-forwarding the execution of our North American strategy."
As it plans to introduce more than 25 new battery electric vehicle (BEV) models through 2030, the VW Group will be able to fully leverage the region's power by creating more synergies and making even better use of the innovative strength, technical expertise, production capacities, supply chains and market knowledge of all brands in Canada, the US, and Mexico.
The carmaker said it will continue to bring more manufacturing capabilities and know-how to the region. In addition to its ramped-up assembly of the all-electric ID.4 compact SUV in Tennessee, US, it also has plans to upgrade the plants in Puebla and Silao, Mexico for the assembly of BEVs and potentially for BEV components such as electric motors in the second half of the decade.
According to the Wall Street Journal, VW has said it would push ahead with planned investment in North America "before breaking ground on its next plant in Europe," blaming the European Union's slow pace and lack of financial aid to advance new green technologies.
According to the German carmaker, it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ontario government in August 2022, which focuses on battery value creation and raw material security in order to promote e-mobility in the country.
