[ad_1]
Volkswagen AG will move production of its premium Passat and Skoda Superb to its plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, after initially wanting to produce the two cars in Turkey, The Slovak Spectator reported Tuesday according to Agerpres.
The investment by the German group will be much higher than expected by the government of Prime Minister Igor Matovič. It is unknown whether the electric vehicles will be produced in Bratislava, said another Slovak publication, Denník N.
In July, the Bratislava executive signed a memorandum with VW representatives, suggesting an investment of 500 million euros, but recent information indicates an investment of one billion euros.
The amount was mentioned by Herbert Diess, Volkswagen CEO, in an interview with the German magazine Automobilwoche. He confirmed the increase in production at the Slovakia plant.
Case with the greatest impact on CCR: judges decide whether Florin Iordache goes to the Legislative Council
In July, Volkswagen announced that it was abandoning previous plans to build a new plant in Turkey, following a significant drop in demand for new cars in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
Volkswagen had considered several possible locations for its new plant in Eastern Europe, including Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria, but in the end the German group opted for Turkey. In Manisa, 40 km from the city of Izmir, a plant with an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles was to be built. The € 1.3 billion production facility was to build the Volkswagen Passat and Skoda Superb models starting in 2022.
The Slovak press claims that among the reasons VW chose Slovakia are the measures to stimulate investment promised by the government and the promise of the Bratislava authorities to build an institution to train employees and improve their skills.
The Volkswagen Group portfolio consists of 12 brands, including VW, Audi, Porsche, Skoda, Lamborghini, Seat, Bentley and Bugatti vehicles, as well as MAN and Scania trucks.
[ad_2]
