Volkswagen, a German car manufacturer, is reportedly investing up to $15.5-billion in a new battery factor. As per the report, the company is attempting to reposition itself as the leader in the electric car sector. This particular move is part of a bid by the automaker to reinvent itself after the events that took place regarding the damaging emissions-rigging scandal.
Volkswagen Plans to Invest in Major Battery Plant After the Wake of Scandal
Volkswagen had already announced their ambitious goals in selling one million electric and hybrid vehicles by the end of the year 2025. Furthermore, they plan on investing more on batteries for their vehicles. Matthias Müller, chief executive of the VW Group, has now understood that they need to put their plans for a massive new battery factory prior to the firm’s supervisory board that will take place next month.
“We want a big hit, which will put us at the forefront of the industry,” a source from Volkswagen AG told Handelsblatt, a German publishing. There is also a spokesman from the automaker that the described the report to be a “speculation.” However, there is no doubting that the car manufacturer is now focusing in cornering a major slice of the pie of the electric sector as it tries to restore its name and image after what had happened after the diesel emissions scandal. Said tragedy has cost the firm billions in recalls, litigation fees, and fines.
To recall, earlier this year, the company’s chief executive vowed to “make electric cars one of VW’s new hallmarks.” Should it go ahead as planned that they are going to invest in a major battery factory, the firm will be following in the footsteps of United States electric car manufacturer Tesla, in which it is now currently building their very own “Gigafactory” located in Nevada.
The premise behind car makers building their own battery factories is to allow them independence from Asian manufacturers in which currently dominate this particular sector. It is known that batteries are one of the most expensive components for fully electric vehicles. Hence, Mr. Musk, founder of Tesla Motors, has predicted that their Gigafactory would be able to reduce the company’s battery costs by around 30-percent.
At the time of writing, Volkswagen has yet to decide as to whether their battery factory will be stationed in Germany, Asia, or Eastern Europe, as per the Handelsblatt report. For the automaker to meet their target of producing one million electric car sales by the year 2025, they would have to invest heavily.