Volkswagen to produce electric cars in Mexico

MEXICO - Volkswagen plans to start producing electric cars from its plant in Puebla, a project that will require the investment of several million dollars.

In an interview with Forbes Mexico, the president of the company in the country, Holger Nestler, assures that they have two investment packages to reach this point, the first for US$750 million, whose objective is to make their production processes more environmentally friendly.

According to the German company's executive, nowadays it is not only about building vehicles, but also about thinking about the manufacturing process and future generations, in other words, building cars in a more sustainable way.

"What about electric vehicles in Mexico, are we going to produce them or not? Of course we are, but first we have to start with a transformation of the industry, here in Mexico we are precisely in that process, where we are making different changes in Volkswagen Mexico," he says.

Nestler explains that the company is making changes within its facilities, updating them so that they have state-of-the-art technology, in order to develop new models thanks to the large investments that will be made in the next one to three years.

"We also have a project that will lead us to a vehicle that eliminates fossil energy or even gas energy, it will be an electric vehicle, but with renewable energy. By the end of 2024 we will have this renewable energy option, which will be much more sustainable and cleaner for our entire planet," he said.

In this sense, the CEO of Volkswagen Mexico explains that when the company talks about electrification, they do not only think of a product, but also of the process with which they manufacture the cars, so the objective of this first investment package lies in the infrastructure to be able to make the changes, including a water treatment plant.

Nestler states that within the initial US$750 million, US$350 million is contemplated for the new paint shop.

Regarding the second package, the executive indicated that it is already contemplated and will have a significant amount of money; it will be revealed in the first 3 or 4 months of next year and involves the electric model that will be manufactured in Mexico.

The local president of the German automaker says that in the next 12 to 15 months the electric model to be produced in Mexico will be defined, however, he says that it will seek to serve the markets of Mexico, the United States and Canada.