Volkswagen plant in Slovakia (source: Courtesy of VW Slovakia)
German carmaker Volkswagen will reportedly move the production of its Passat vehicle and the premium model Škoda Superb to its plant in Bratislava.
Moreover, the investment should be much higher than the Igor Matovič government hoped for in the summer, the Denník N daily reported.
Back in July, the cabinet signed a memo with the carmaker’s representatives, suggesting an investment of €500 million. However, the recent information suggests that the investment may be as high as €1 billion.
The sum has been mentioned by Herbert Diess, chair of the board of management of Volkswagen Group. He also confirmed that the Slovak plant will obtain the carmaker’s big productions in an interview with the Automobilwoche magazine.
Volkswagen originally planned to build a new plant for Passat and Škoda Superb in Turkey but decided against it, Denník N wrote.
The representatives of Volkswagen Slovakia have not commented on the information yet, as the supervisory board of Volkswagen will discuss the investment only on Friday, as Denník N reported.
Some details unclear
It is not clear yet how many Passats and Škoda Superbs will be produced in Slovakia. The Slovak branch of Volkswagen has not commented on the decision, Denník N wrote.
It is also not clear for now whether part of the investment will include e-vehicles, the daily added.
Still, it is an investment that brings certainty to the Slovak plant, particularly during the coronavirus crisis.
One of the reasons why the carmaker decided to invest in Slovakia might be the investment stimuli. The government has also promised to build an institution to educate the staff and increase their qualifications.
They plan to build new rental flats for the carmaker within 20 kilometres from the plant and help provide transportation for the staff too, Denník N wrote.
