According to Reuters, on November 1st, Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Volkswagen Group, stated that the company would not make a decision on the location for its fourth electric vehicle battery super factory due to lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles in Europe.
The Volkswagen Group has already selected battery production sites in Salzgitter, Germany, Valencia, Spain, and St. Thomas, Canada, with a combined annual capacity of up to 200 GWh.
Volkswagen has been searching for a potential location to build its fourth battery super factory in Eastern Europe, but had already postponed the decision about a year ago, considering locations in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, or Slovakia.
Earlier this year, the Volkswagen Group also stated that they were in no hurry to make a decision.
On November 1st, Blume, in a statement released by Skoda, said, "Based on market conditions, including slow growth in the European market for pure electric vehicles... there is currently no business case for further site selection."
Czech officials also stated on the same day that they would start offering the proposed location of the Volkswagen battery plant to other investors, as they could no longer wait for Volkswagen's decision.
This week, Blume met with several Czech officials. As the global automotive industry gradually moves away from fossil fuels, the Czech Republic has been pushing for this investment to ensure the future of its crucial automotive sector.
Volkswagen stated that they would continue to focus on Skoda's electric car business. Skoda is the largest exporter in the Czech Republic and a significant indicator of the country's economy. Skoda is implementing a plan to launch new electric models in the coming years.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated that the country would start focusing on other projects. Fiala said at a press conference, "We can't keep land reserved for this project."
Czech Minister of Industry Jozef Sikela stated that negotiations were ongoing with five investors, and the scale of two of the projects was similar to Volkswagen's plans.
Last week, the Volkswagen Group joined a growing list of car manufacturers and analysts, warning that demand for electric cars had not developed as expected, with the company's electric car orders in Europe dropping from 300,000 units last year to 150,000 units.
