Ottawa to provide VW with up to CAD 13.2 billion to build battery plant in Canada

The Canadian government will provide German automaker Volkswagen with a subsidy of up to 13.2 billion Canadian dollars (209 billion Czech crowns) over ten years to build an electric vehicle battery plant in the province of Ontario. It will be the German group’s first such facility outside Europe. The AFP news agency reported this today.

„The investment will depend on the number of batteries produced and will range from eight to 13.2 billion dollars,“ the government said.

The plant will create „3,000 direct jobs and up to 30,000 indirect jobs,“ Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press briefing.

Volkswagen announced plans to build the plant in the city of St. Thomas in mid-March. Construction is scheduled to begin next year. The plant is due to open in 2027. According to the Canadian prime minister, it will produce batteries „for up to one million electric vehicles a year“.

Volkswagen will invest „seven billion (Canadian) dollars“ in the plant, making it „the largest investment in the electric vehicle sector in Canada’s history“, Trudeau said.