Tesla’s battery factory project in Germany is “on track”, local authorities said Thursday, after press reports suggesting a pause in construction due to a new subsidy regime in the United States.
“Tesla (…) has confirmed that the battery factory will be built on site,” a spokesman for the eastern German region of Brandenburg, where it is to be located, said in a statement to AFP.
The region’s economy minister, Jörg Steinbach, went to Washington on Tuesday to clarify the situation with representatives of the American car manufacturer Tesla.
“Expect process and prioritization changes. But the plant is coming,” he said on Twitter, following the meeting. The factory is planned for the south of the German capital, on the site where Tesla opened its first European car manufacturing unit in March.
Contacted Thursday by AFP, Tesla did not respond immediately. The Wall Street Journal had reported in mid-September that the American group had decided to put on hold its battery factory project in Germany, because of new subsidies in this field in the United States.
In August, Washington passed legislation providing tax incentives for automakers if vehicle batteries are manufactured and assembled in the United States.
This new public aid scheme has caused tensions between the United States and the Europeans, with the EU pointing the finger at measures deemed protectionist. It would put Tesla at a disadvantage, as it had previously planned to send batteries produced in its European factory to the US.
The question of the distribution of battery production between the two continents arises for the group. Especially since Tesla opened a new “gigafactory” in Austin (Texas) in April.
The installation of Tesla in Germany has not been easy for the American giant, which has faced many bureaucratic and legal problems.
The construction of the gigafactory has been considerably delayed by administrative controls concerning the impact of the plant on water resources and the environment in the region.
