Wallbox expands its business in Spain According to CincoDias (in Spanish), Wallbox, a Spanish EV charger maker, negotiates with Volkswagen to participate in the battery project. Even though they do […]
According to CincoDias (in Spanish), Wallbox, a Spanish EV charger maker, negotiates with Volkswagen to participate in the battery project. Even though they do not decide its location, the Volkswagen Group opened its plan to build the battery factory in Spain. The CEO of Wallbox, Enric Asunción, mentioned in the following way:
“To this day (August 2021) we are still in talks. However, we believe that Wallbox is one of the companies that will be part of this project.” In July 2020, Volkswagen confirmed its intention to build a large factory of batteries for electric power in Spain. In addition, the Spanish government announced the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation (PERTE) and it also affects.
Asunción defines the PERTE as ideal project and highlights the good relationship that Wallbox maintains with both Volkswagen and Iberdrola. These companies would also participate in the project. In fact, Volkswagen is Wallbox’s client through SEAT and CUPRA, and Iberdrola is a client and investor of the company.
The CEO of Wallbox is confident that Spain will know how to manage European funds, especially in the automotive sector. This is because it is a “key” sector in the country. Furthermore, the construction of this battery factory can accelerate the transition to zero emissions vehicles.
Volkswagen is aiming to secure the supply of battery cells beyond 2025. In Europe alone, the Group is planning to build six gigafactories by 2030. Their capacity will reach 240 GWh as a whole. In addition, Volkswagen is also pursuing expansion of the public fast-charging network globally. The Group has been agreed cooperation in Europe with the energy companies BP (Great Britain), Iberdrola (Spain) and Enel (Italy).
As we see the other article, Nissan’s Barcelona plants will be possibly converted into a battery production facility for EVs. Therefore, there are some good reasons why the companies including Volkswagen, Iberdrola and Wallbox, are working together to build battery factories in Spain.
First of all, Volkswagen needs its own gigafactories to adapt the unavoidable technological advancement, electrification. There are strong motivations that the automotive companies must transform themselves from combustion engine car makers into EV’s. The public policies to ban the sales of diesel or gasoline engine vehicles is just one example. However, batteries still accounts for major part of their cost. Thus, gigafactories are crucial to reduce the price of EVs and make them more affordable and available.
Secondly, the Spanish government wants to make the country “EV production hub”. This is because Spain is the second largest country in terms of the production of vehicles just behind Germany. However, electrification changes the product so that some jobs will be gone. If Spain cannot keep the industry in the country, more people will lose their job. Spain is one of the worst hit country by the pandemic so that it must adapt the situation.
As of August 23rd 2021, Volkswagen and Wallbox have not announced their collaboration yet. However, they will work together to accelerate electrification in Spain sooner or later.
