Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, is seeking to produce more batteries in the US as it tries to increase its production of electric vehicles in the US and challenge Tesla's lead.
Later this year, Volkswagen will start producing ID.4 electric cars at its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. "We probably need to build a battery factory in the United States, and we are investing in the United States," 木拉提 Aksel, Volkswagen's purchasing director, said in an interview on April 7. " On April 10th, Aksel traveled to the United States to meet with battery makers and other suppliers. During his visit to the United States, he will examine the possible location of the plant.
Volkswagen plans to invest about 52 billion euros ($57 billion) in R & D and production of electric vehicles over the next five years. Volkswagen has been trying to increase its market share in the United States, but due to the lack of popular SUV models in its product line, the results are not satisfactory. In March, Volkswagen announced that it would allocate $7.1 billion over the next five years to improve its product and battery development and production capacity in the United States.
Tesla opened his new plant in Austin, Texas, as Volkswagen sought to expand its market share in the United States. A few weeks ago, Tesla's German factory also began to produce Model Y SUV.
Volkswagen plans to build six battery plants in Europe with a total capacity of 240 GWh, several of which are operated in partnership with other companies. In March, Volkswagen announced that it would spend more than 7 billion euros ($7.6 billion) to build a supply chain for electric vehicles in Spain, including a battery factory. Volkswagen's Spanish battery plant is its third battery plant in Europe, with the first two factories in Sweden and Germany.
The escalation of the situation in Russia and Ukraine has affected the production of wire harness by suppliers such as Leoni in Ukraine, leaving Volkswagen facing the problem of wire harness shortage. Aksel said that while Volkswagen tried to obtain wiring harness supplies elsewhere, it also supported suppliers producing in western Ukraine. Despite the curfew in Ukraine, the Ukrainian factories of these suppliers are still able to ensure 50 to 80 per cent capacity.
Aksel, who recently visited a supplier factory near Lviv, Ukraine, admitted, "these suppliers are very dedicated and really want to maintain production in the Ukrainian factory. Over the past 20 years, they have been supplying us with high-quality parts on time, and we are glad to cooperate with them. "
