Volkswagen to open its first North American EV battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont.
CBC
The Ontario government has announced Volkswagen's first electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing plant will be built in St. Thomas, on Talbot Line near Yarmouth Centre Road, close to the city's airport.
The announcement, released Monday by the office of Vic Fedeli, the province's minister of economic development and trade, is the first public confirmation of the deal that has long been rumoured to be in the works.
The German auto giant said production is set to begin in 2027, calling it its first overseas "gigafactory" for battery cell manufacturing.
"I think that means a very large plant with a very large workforce," said St Thomas Mayor Joe Preston on Monday. "We're already clearing the land and getting things ready for as fast as a construction that we can do."
Preston said the plant will likely result in thousands of jobs, at the plant itself, along the supply chain and during the plant's construction, which is expected to take two to four years.
"In the long run, it's maybe more than we can dream. It's that good for St Thomas."
Flavio Volpe, head of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association (APMA), said the new plant could result in "as many as 2,500 direct jobs created and up to 7,500 total jobs including indirect positions."
The province recently passed legislation that would allow the City of St. Thomas to annex 607 hectares of farmland from the Municipality of Central Elgin. The aim is to turn the parcel into industrial lands as part of what the province called an investment "mega-site."
Neighbours were upset by the legislation, which they said was done in secret and without their consultation.
Preston said it's typical for governments to keep real estate deals confidential until they're a fait accompli.
"Obviously any negotiation on property or land purchases needs to be done quietly. We certainly don't put up billboards about it," he said.
Volkswagen officials met with Premier Doug Ford on Feb 23, according to a provincial news release to seal the deal.
Batteries at the plant, once built, would be manufactured by PowerCo, a Volkswagen subsidiary in its first overseas battery manufacturing plant.
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