Demand For Electric Vehicles In Europe Drops, Volkswagen Delays Building New Battery Factory

JAKARTA - Volkswagen has postponed decision-making on the new battery production site for a while as demand for electric vehicles in Europe turns out to be under expectations. Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume directly disclosed this.

Volkswagen's move is almost the same as Ford, previously reported by VOI. Quoted from Paultan's website, Thursday, November 2, Volkswagen has previously been looking for locations that make it possible to set up an electric vehicle battery factory in Eastern Europe. However, the decision was postponed a year ago when considerations were made for locations in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

However, according to a Reuters report, Volkswagen's considerations missed. Czech officials reported that the location that Volkswagen had previously targeted would be given to other investors because they did not want to delay certainty for too long.

"We cannot continue to hold the land for the project," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

Meanwhile, Industry Minister Josef Sikela revealed that he is in talks with five investors, two of whom have projects of the same scale as Volkswagen's plans.

"Considering market conditions, including the slowdown in the growth of the electric vehicle market in Europe, there is currently no business reason to decide on a further location," Oliver Blume concluded.

Not only Volkswagen, several other manufacturers are also feeling a decline in the market in Europe, which has prompted well-known brands to take strategic steps to deal with this condition.