Investment in German and EU industrial projects such as battery-cell factories will be unfeasible if the region’s policymakers fail to control ballooning energy prices in the long term, the head of Volkswagen AG’s namesake brand said.
“Unless we manage to reduce energy prices in Germany and Europe quickly and reliably, investments in energy-intensive production or new battery cell factories in Germany and the EU will be practically unviable,” VW Brand Chief Executive Officer Thomas Schaefer wrote Monday on LinkedIn. [emphasis, links added]
“The value creation in this area will take place elsewhere.”
An outline for industrial-policy cooperation hatched by the French and German economy ministers last week “falls short in crucial areas and does not address the envisaged priorities,” Schaefer said.
Europe’s energy crisis is compounding pressure on how to respond to the US’s Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s climate and tax law that aims to boost domestic production of electric cars and reduce reliance on China for battery components and materials.
European Union officials have said the subsidy program violates World Trade Organization rules and discriminates against non-US companies.
The EU’s programs don’t focus enough on “the short-term ramp-up, scaling, and industrialization of production,” Schaefer said, criticizing what he called “outdated and bureaucratic state-aid rules.”
Volkswagen plans to have six battery factories in full operation across Europe by 2030 under its battery company Powerco, which broke ground on its lead plant in Germany in July of this year and signed a €3 billion ($3.1 billion) joint venture with Umicore in September for cathode material production.
Read rest at Bloomberg
EV we don’t need to have EV,s forced upon us by a whole lot of politicians trying to get good grades from the UN globalists gutter dwellers who should be home caring for their own people
China is building new coal plants to provide low-cost electricity while EU shuts down their low-cost generating plants, relying more and more on costly and unreliable “Green Energy” for their electricity. Guess which region will be the producer of these batteries and other manufacturing? Not Europe and yet they continue to slit their own collective throats.
And, the U.S will (also) NOT be competitive with China in the manufacture of batteries regardless of what the Biden Administration says. Nor, will we be capable of mining & smelting the VAST amounts of materials needed for the “Green Dream.” China dominates that, as well, If you think OPEC was a bunch of “pirates,” just wait until you have to deal with the CCP…