Matthias Mueller sees factors for building Volkswagen’s battery factory

Europe’s biggest automaker Volkswagen sees constructing its own factory to make electronic vehicle batteries as a sensible move as it expands production of low-emission automobiles after its emissions scandal.

Volkswagen and its labor unions settled on Friday to cut 30,000 jobs at the core Volkswagen brand name in exchange for a dedication to prevent forced redundancies in Germany until 2025.

The cuts included a management promise to create 9,000 new jobs in the area of battery production and mobility services at factories located in Germany as part of efforts to move towards electric and self-driving vehicles.

“If more than a quarter of our automobiles are to be electronic vehicles in the in the foreseeable future then we are going to require roughly three million batteries a year,” CEO Matthias Mueller informed Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. “Then it makes sense to develop our own factory.”

Volkswagen presently depends on external battery providers for the electric vehicles it creates.

Matthias Mueller informed that Volkswagen has is in talks with Uber on possible cooperation however the automaker would not settle for the role as a simple supplier.

“They (Uber) saw us more in the role of a provider. But we stated: Okay guys, this is a contest which we are happy to take on. We will stay in command,” Mueller stated.

Automakers like Volkswagen are establishing electric vehicles and billing themselves as mobility business that don’t simply offer vehicles but likewise get involved with options to traditional vehicle ownership such as ride-hailing.