According to media reports, Volkswagen Group is scaling back its battery plant plans in Europe and North America due to the recent downturn in the electric vehicle market. Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group's Chief Technology Officer, stated in an interview with foreign media: "The expansion of our battery plants in Europe and North America will depend on the development of the electric vehicle market."
In 2021, Volkswagen Group announced plans to build six battery plants with a combined annual capacity of 240 gigawatt-hours by 2030 to ensure sufficient battery supply for its electric vehicles.
Volkswagen's PowerCo battery division has already started constructing two plants in Europe, with the Salzgitter plant in Germany expected to begin production next year and the plant in Spain slated for 2026. Meanwhile, preliminary work is underway for a battery plant in Ontario, Canada.
Thomas Schmall mentioned that Volkswagen Group has now reallocated its production capacity, planning to build a very large plant in Ontario, Canada, but will reduce the number of battery plants overall. He revealed: "We are currently planning to produce batteries at three plants in Salzgitter, Germany; Valencia, Spain; and Ontario, Canada, with a total capacity of up to 170 gigawatt-hours."
Schmall added that if necessary, Volkswagen Group could easily expand the Valencia and Ontario plants to meet its original goal of 200 gigawatt-hours of battery capacity by 2030. "At this point, I don't know if the plants in Spain and Canada will be expanded, but if needed, this is certainly feasible within the six years before 2030." He also noted that due to space constraints, expanding the Salzgitter plant would be difficult.
Thomas Schmall declined to disclose whether Volkswagen Group would produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries at the Salzgitter plant. LFP batteries are less expensive than nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries, and are therefore crucial for European automakers aiming to produce affordable electric vehicles to compete with Chinese manufacturers.
Additionally, Thomas Schmall stated that Volkswagen Group would begin producing solid-state batteries before 2030. Solid-state batteries offer longer driving ranges and faster charging times for electric vehicles. In July this year, Volkswagen announced an agreement to mass-produce solid-state batteries based on QuantumScape technology.
