Volkswagen will use the group’s Spanish factories to manufacture electric vehicles, Chief Executive Herbert Diess has confirmed. It plans to produce compact electric cars at the multi-brand Martorell factory and electric SUVs at the multi-brand Pamplona factory from 2025 onwards. Volkswagen has also stated that the final decision will depend on general conditions and government incentives.

Within the framework of Planning Round 70 (2022-2026), the Volkswagen Group has decided to continue electrifying its European plants to achieve its aim of becoming the global market leader in electromobility before 2025. The group’s Wolfsburg headquarters and production plant will be refurbished and it will increase its competitiveness through major investment in future technologies. Future-oriented investment will mainly focus on electromobility and digitalisation and will amount to 89 billion euros, the largest share (56%) of the total investment of 159 billion euros. Volkswagen predicts that one in four vehicles sold by the group will have a battery-powered electric propulsion system before 2026.

“Our investment will focus on the future of mobility in all its key areas and on the systematic implementation of our Group strategy. Our extremely solid financial base means we can finance the necessary investment ourselves,” stated Hans Dieter Pötsch, Chairman of the Volkswagen AG Board of Management. The company hasn’t specified the amount of investment that Spanish factories will receive but has outlined that 21billion euros have been earmarked for its plants in Lower Saxony, most of which will be allocated to vehicle production and component manufacture.

Brussels has given the green light to the Spanish Government’s Strategic Plan for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE in Spanish) for electric and connected vehicles, which is worth 3billion euros. Government minister Reyes Maroto stated that “this is wonderful news after months of negotiations with Brussels. Authorisation from the European Commission will help the digital and sustainable recovery of the automotive industry, and Spain is one of the main European manufacturers in this sector.”

^{Photo: Volkswagen}