Volkswagen Group broke ground Thursday at the first of six battery factories it expects to build in Europe, the official kickoff of a new battery business that will invest $20 billion through 2030 to become a global EV leader.
Volkswagen’s new company, called PowerCo, will be responsible for the automaker’s global battery business, managing the value chain from raw materials to recycling. The automaker expects that the factory in Salzgitter, Germany and the five others planned for Europe will cut its battery costs by half, a key competitive advantage as the global market for EVs intensifies.
The factories and new company are part of Volkswagen’s efforts to ramp …
