Volkswagen might start producing its Passat model, currently made in Turkey, the production of which is currently planned to be moved to Turkey, in Slovakia. The Automobilwoche weekly cited sources as saying that the company is pondering moving its production.
Will Passat go to Bratislava?
Volkswagen halted its investment in Turkey due to the Turkish military operation in northern Syria that has provoked international criticism, the TASR newswire reported.
The supervisory board of Volkswagen is expected to meet this week to decide on whether they will work on the planned construction of the plant in Turkey. The value of the investment is estimated at €1.3 billion.
Read also:As government prepares social packages, carmakers warn of crisis Read more The company needs to decide fast because the plant is scheduled to be completed by October 2022. That is the date the plant in Emden, Germany should switch to the production of fully electric vehicles.
One of the alternatives discussed within the concern is a moving the production of the Passat to the Bratislava plant, said sources for the Automobilwoche weekly.
Lower Saxony says no to Turkey
Currently, the Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7 and small cars like the Volkswagen Up, Seat Mii and Škoda Citigo are produced in the Bratislava plant.
The production of those mini cars should be limited gradually as this segment decreases, which will provide needed production capacities.
Member of the supervisory board and president of Lower Saxony Stephan Weil said,that he is against building the plant in Turkey. Lower Saxony owns a 20 percent share in Volkswagen and it has a great impact on the carmaker’s decision-making.
After stopping the project in Turkey, the countries of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia expressed interest in the investment. Automobilwoche reported that Volkswagen had already decided to move part of the production of the Škoda Karog to Bratislava.
29. Oct 2019 at 4:43 | TASR, Compiled by Spectator staff
