Car maker VW is hesitant about deciding a new location in eastern Europe for a battery cell factory, according to reports.
German newspaper Handelsblatt reported the Czech government is threatening to promote projects by other companies instead.
CEO of VW, Oliver Blume, said after a meeting with Czech premier Petr Fiala that current market conditions were against new locations in Europe. The take-up of battery electric vehicles is slower than expected, he said. High energy prices are also a factor.
Fiala replied that the government could not continue to hold land for VW’s potential project and other possibilities would be explored.
The Czech government had offered VW the site of the former Pilsen Line military airfield. There has been local opposition to the demolition and replacement with a new battery factory.
VW is having a cell factory built in Salzgitter, Germany, and another in Sagunto, Spain. It is planning a third with Northvolt in Sweden and has agreed terms for a new one in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.
