Volkswagen spends 7 billion euros to build a battery factory for electric car production hub in Spain to Valencia

Volkswagen Group and its Siat brand announced on Wednesday that they will invest more than 7 billion euros in the electric vehicle industry chain in Spain, with a focus on the superbattery factory in Valencia.

Wayne Griffith, chairman of the Siat Group, said in a statement that the more than 7 billion euros mobilized by Volkswagen and Seattle for the project, which is also the largest single industrial investment in Spanish history, has the potential to transform the Spanish auto industry. Thomas Schmall, director of Volkswagen Group, said that the entire investment project includes not only the Valencia superbattery plant, but also the task of transforming the Martorell and Pamplona plants into electric car production bases.

According to the current project plan, the Valencia battery plant also has a capacity of 40 GWh, which is scheduled to start production in 2026, according to this schedule, construction needs to start this year. In addition to the Swedish battery maker Northvolt, which the company invested in, the company's previously announced Salzgit plant is expected to start production in 2025. In its overall battery production plan, Volkswagen plans to expand its capacity to 240 GWh by 2030.

Volkswagen had previously announced that it would invest 52 billion euros in the development and production of electric cars over five years, the biggest move yet in the entire auto industry. What is interesting is that Volkswagen has previously stated that it is open to the spin-off and listing of the battery business.

Wednesday's announcement is also the latest move by Volkswagen Group to dig deep into the electric vehicle industry chain. On Monday, Volkswagen Group (China) also announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation with Huayou Cobalt and Castle Peak Group. it is proposed to set up a joint venture with the latter in Indonesia and Guangxi respectively. Among them, the planned construction scale of the Indonesian joint venture company can meet the supply of nickel and cobalt raw materials for 160GWh batteries.