German car manufacturer Volkswagen is ready to invest in a plant expected to employ some 5,000 people, and has had on the short list Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. Sources quoted by Bloomberght.com and taken over by adevarul.ro say the plant will become operational in 2022 to produce Skoda Karoq and Seat Ateca.
Currently, the two models are manufactured by VW in Kvasiny, Czech Republic. Following the replacement to Turkey, VW would produce in the Czech Republic the Passat model. According to the source, the decision was made after the recent improvements of the bilateral relations between Germany and Turkey.
Recently, Volkswagen has also announced a planned cooperation with US giant Ford. Sources say Ford would relocate the commercial vehicles’ production to Turkey and the two companies would use reciprocally the plants to produce electric cars and autonomous cars in view of cutting down the costs.
In late November, ‘Automobilwoche’ reported that Romania is on the short list for a new Volkswagen plant in Eastern Europe, although initially it was out due to the poor infrastructure and lack of personnel. At the time it was said that a decision hasn’t been made and that Romania and Bulgaria are on the short list to manufacture the two German group’s models.
According to the sources of the German publication, a Greenfield project was considered either in Romania or in Bulgaria, but the conversion of an engine plant in Hungary or Poland into a car factory could also be considered.
Analysts said the project could involve 5,000 jobs, an investment of EUR 1 billion and a production to be almost entirely exported.