‘Who are we doing this for?’
The Volkswagen Group is building a new battery cell factory for electric cars in Spain. Seat boss Wayne Griffiths is reportedly concerned about this, because the Spanish market is far from ready for major EV adaptation. Moreover, the concerns are not limited to Spain.
The battery factory under construction near Valencia is one of two large battery factories that the Volkswagen Group is building in Europe, in addition to the German Salzgitter. The facility is part of the major role that Volkswagen gives to the Spanish branch when it comes to EVs. The Spanish branch is of course called Seat, but it is not directly about the brand. Seat SA is the division that builds and sells cars under the Seat and Cupra brand names, with a declining role for the former and an increasing role for the latter.
Seat boss Wayne Griffiths has expressed his concerns to Bloomberg about Spain’s biggest EV plans. “From next year, about half of my company will be making electric cars,” he says. “There is no market for this in Spain yet and that worries me. Next year we’ll be making EVs, but for whom? It is only 5 percent of the market.”
The proposed battery factory near Valencia.
Automotive News Europe rightly adds that the demand for EVs is under pressure throughout Europe, especially the demand for EVs from European brands. After all, the competition from Tesla and the Chinese newcomers is difficult for them, and together with the reluctance of consumers, it puts pressure on demand. Volkswagen has previously been forced to temporarily close EV factories. We also know that the company will not be looking for new locations for battery factories for the time being. The circumstances do not currently require this, Volkswagen says.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl