The race to build a domestic electric-vehicle supply chain has revved up with Volkswagen Group’s decision to single out Canada as a prospective site for its first North American battery plant.
“Canada is one logical option for the construction of a gigafactory in the region of North America,” VW CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement Dec. 1. “The country offers high sustainability standards and ideal economic conditions, and the government of Canada has already proven to be a strong and reliable partner.”
The announcement came as an addendum to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that VW and Canada signed in August. In it, the two parties agreed to cooperate on building a “sustainable” supply chain for battery-electric vehicles. It followed meetings in Wolfsburg, Germany, between Volkswagen executives and federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, who was on a weeklong European tour promoting Canada’s auto industry.
The site search in Canada is being conducted by VW’s battery unit, PowerCo SE, which has been tasked with establishing the automaker’s global EV supply chain.
While the agreement included no investment commitments, VW did not publicly mention other countries for the prospective investment, and industry proponents insist it is serious about establishing a Canadian manufacturing footprint.
“This really sounds like it is beyond the general interest/due-diligence stage,” said Brendan Sweeney managing director of the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing, which promotes Ontario’s manufacturing sector. “There are no guarantees, of course, but lots of room for optimism.”
LOOKS GOOD FOR CANADA