The war of the batteries is on. By planning to open 6 factories in Europe by 2030, Volkswagen is trying to retaliate against Tesla and its Giga-factories.
It is the boss of the German brand, Herbert Diess, who says: “ Alone or with partners “, Volkswagen plans” operate up to six gigafactories “. The firm plans to open by 2030 its own battery manufacturing plants and cells to meet the growing demand for electric vehicle needs.
Meeting the challenge of electricity becomes a necessity
Faced with climate challenges, electricity ” is the only solution to rapidly reduce emissions from mobility “, Declares Herbert Diess.
With more restrictive European legislation on CO2 emissions, the share of cars purely electric among Volkswagen sales is expected to double in less than 10 years. To do this, “battery capacities must necessarily grow in parallel“says the boss of Volkswagen.
The German group wants to compete with Tesla
Tesla, the company of Elon Musk’s billionaire, is already very advanced in the battery sector. By organizing an annual “Battery Day“, the American firm regularly innovates in this environment and designs batteries always more efficient.
For Volkswagen, the task promises to be ambitious even if the firm intends to operate in known terrain: Europe. Six sites are also planned, which will have a total capacity of 240 gigawattheures (GWh). A site in Germany has already been selected; It is that of Zalzgitter, a major Volkswagen site. In Sweden, a second is under construction, in partnership with the company Northvolt, a battery specialist.
Reduce the price of batteries and invest in charging stations
Volkswagen, which has already invested more than 30 billion euros in its transition to electric, now sets itself the objective of reducing “ up to 50% »Battery prices by relying on a single model for 80% of its cars and vast economies of scale.
The German group also announced a massive investment of 400 million euros by 2025 in the European charging network to multiply by five the number of fast charging points and cover with its partners a third of the demand. To do so, partnerships with the British groups BP, the Spanish Iberdrola and the Italian company Enel have been signed.
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