Tesla Motors has held talks with officials in the Valencia region regarding a possible plant with a total investment of 4.5 billion euros, writes Reuters with reference to Cinco Dias publication. Valencia is a center for automotive investment.

Tesla opened its first European factory in Berlin in 2022, but it still needs production capacity. Tesla Motors, thanks to factories in China, the United States and Germany, is also producing more than 400,000 cars per quarter, compared to less than 25,000 in three months six years ago. The big jump came in late 2021 and early 2022, when it exceeded 100,000 cars produced per month.

The Spanish press wrote that Tesla executives spoke with high-ranking officials of the Valencia region about possible mega-investments. A regional official told Reuters that he was in talks with representatives of the car company about a possible major investment, but did not give details, explaining that the talks were confidential.

Spain has attracted and wants to attract a lot of investment, especially in the production of batteries for electric cars, using funds received from the EU to restore the economy after the pandemic.

Ford has a plant in Valencia, and Volkswagen has announced it will invest €10 billion in a “gigafactory” to produce batteries for electric cars, a unit that should be ready in 2026.