Published 9 June 2024 at 14.33
Economics. A further three car battery factories in German Kaiserslautern and Italian Termoli are put on hold after a decline in sales of electric cars, writes Ny Teknik. This means that the EU's plans to become a “superpower” in electric car batteries are definitely in tatters.
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The background is that almost no private individuals want to buy an electric car and that sales are now almost entirely to institutional and public buyers, despite a wave of tax breaks and subsidies in several EU countries.
Stellantis NV and Mercedes-Benz Group AG put plans for two German battery factories for electric vehicles on hold .
Even the Automotive Cells Company, which planned to build three battery factories in Europe at a total cost of 7 billion euros (780 billion kroner), has stopped the construction of its planned battery factory in Kaiserslautern in southwestern Germany and paused the preparatory work ahead of a similar factory in Termoli on the east coast of Italy.
Stellanti CEO Carlos Tavares stated in a comment on June 4 that the company must deal with reality, and in reality the market for electric cars is not a bit hot in Europe .
– If the European market switches to electric cars faster than planned, we will invest faster. But if the European transition goes slower than planned, we will invest more slowly, he says.
The news means the end of Europe's plans to become a “major power” in electric car battery manufacturing.
The new battery manufacturer Britishvolt, which was started by Swedes, was declared bankrupt at the end of last year. As a copy of the Swedish Northvolt, the businessman Lars Carlström, former Saab profile, and Orral Nadjari launched the idea of Britishvolt in 2020, which thus collapsed already three years later.