Volkswagen's €10bn investment in Spain
German carmaker Volkswagen and its Spanish subsidiary Seat have announced plans to build a €10 billion battery factory in the Spanish province of Valencia.
The 2 square km factory will occupy a site in Sagunto, about 30 km north of Valencia. It will have an annual production capacity of 40GWh and provide batteries for the group’s factories in Martorell and Pamplona.
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“This investment will electrify Spain and Europe's second-largest automotive manufacturer, creating a battery gigafactory in Sagunto, enabling the production of electric vehicles at the Martorell and Pamplona plants, and building up a comprehensive supplier ecosystem," said Herbert Diess, the chief executive of Volkswagen Group, adding that this will be the biggest industrial investment ever made in Spain.
The gigafactory will employ more than 3,000 people by 2030 and occupy an area of 200 hectares. Construction is due to start during the first quarter of 2023, with battery production set to begin in 2026. Alongside the factory, there will also be a 2.5 square km solar power plant that will partly power it.
The plant is one of the main projects in Seat’s “Future: Fast Forward” programme, itself part of the Spanish government’s economic recovery drive. Diess said the investment was a “model for the whole of Spain on how traditional industrial structures can be transformed”.
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He added: “The Volkswagen Group, Seat and the Spanish government share a vision: to make Spain a European hub for electric mobility. We are ready to initiate this transformation.”
The Sagunto site will be the third of six gigafactories that Volkswagen is planning to build across Europe, with two already confirmed for Germany and Sweden.
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