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Chinese Partsmaker Plans EV Factory in Germany
Chinese auto supplier Beijing WKW Automotive says it intends to build a €1.1 billion factory in Rothenburg, Germany, to make premium electric cars for the European market.
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Chinese auto supplier Beijing WKW Automotive says it intends to build a €1.1 billion factory in Rothenburg, Germany, to make premium electric cars for the European market.
WKW aims to produce the cars through a newly created German affiliate, Delon Automotive GmbH, according to the regional government.
Rothenburg is in Saxony, Volkswagen AG’s home and the location of BMW and VW assembly plants. WKW didn’t indicate when it expects to begin production, output levels or details about the vehicle itself.
The lack of detail leaves observers skeptical about WKW’s ability to execute its plan. Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, an auto analyst at the University of Duisburg-Essen’s Center for Automotive Research, tells Bloomberg News that the Chinese company is a midsize partsmaker with no experience or competency in building entire cars. He also describes Germany’s high labor costs as a deterrent.
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