PowerCoA subsidiary of the Volkswagen concern, specializing in the production of batteries, will install its first cellular gigafactory outside of Europe in North America: for this the German manufacturer chose Canadaor rather the city of St. Thomas, which is in the province of Ontario.

“Our North American strategy is the top priority of the 10-point plan developed last year. With the decision to open a battery plant in Canada and the Scout factory in South Carolina, we are accelerating the implementation of our strategy in North America.”– said Oliver Blum, chairman of the board of the Volkswagen Group.

Volkswagen: production of batteries in Canada

Based in Canada, Volkswagen continues to implement its global battery strategy by establishing itself in this strategic market, which is North America. Then the PowerCo facility in St. Thomas will become The third plant of the Volkswagen Group for the production of battery cellsafter Salzgitter and Valencia.

This new plant will be responsible for supplying battery cells for the Group’s various brands of electric vehicles manufactured in North America. In particular, they can be found in cars of the Volkswagen ID series, as well as, for example, in Audi E-tron models.

This plant is the result of a general agreement to promote electric mobility in Canada, signed in August 2022 with the government of Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. Through its subsidiary PowerCo, Volkswagen wants gain a foothold in the battery market for electric vehicles across North America. To achieve this goal, Canada offers ideal conditions forsupply of raw materialsas well as access togreen electricity.

Volkswagen Gigafactory: inauguration is planned for 2027

The first stable unified cells will be produced at the Canadian plant in St. Thomas from 2027. Volkswagen will give us more information about its upcoming gigafactory in St. Thomas at a later date.

Volkswagen Group is making a big bet on the North American market: the German firm plans to sell the largest line of 100% electric cars in the United States. By 2030, various brands of the Group will be launched more than 25 new 100% electric carsand Volkswagen will develop across the Atlantic, creating more synergies around innovation, technical expertise, manufacturing capacity, supply chains, whether in Canada, the United States or Mexico.

Volkswagen is to increase its production capacity in North America: in addition to the production of the 100% electric Volkswagen ID.4 in Chattanooga, Tennessee in the USA, Volkswagen will transform its Mexican plants in Puebla and Silao from 2025, in order to prepare them for the production of electric vehicles and their electric motors.