Thomas Schäfer, the incumbent Chairman of the Board of Directors of Škoda Auto, who will take over the operational management of the VW brand from 1 April, wants the parent company Volkswagen to choose the Czech Republic to build a car battery factory.
Schäfer said this in a public statement interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). The newspaper described the support of the Czech Republic as a possible place for the new plant as Schäfer’s farewell gift.
“We want the Czechia to win and become another place for the Volkswagen Group’s battery factory,” Schäfer said. The group wants to build six such plants in Europe, three of which have already been decided. In addition to Germany, Sweden and Spain, Central Europe is another region where the plant should stand. According to Schäfer, there is a great rivalry between neighboring states over who gets it.
The Czech government supports the production of the Czechia. The FAZ pointed out that the Czechia is also preparing for lithium mining in its part of the Ore Mountains. Lithium is a key raw material for the production of battery cells.
The concern wanted to be clear about the construction of a Central European battery factory at the end of last year, but postponed the decision by about half a year. The current Russian invasion of Ukraine also influences the assessment and negotiations. “I am convinced that we will reach a decision in the first half of the year,” Schäfer said. If that happened, the group would still decide during Schäfer’s work in Škoda, because he will lead the Czech carmaker until the end of June.
Schäfer also spoke with the FAZ that the Czechia should become one of the centers of electromobility and that the narrowing of Škoda’s model lines is not planned, although the company must prepare for further savings. “We are consistently focused on efficiency,” he said, adding that the goal is a leading position in price costs. “It’s a shame,” he added.
It is not yet clear who will replace Schäfer in Mladá Boleslav. In February, the weekly Škodovácký odborář stated that there were nine candidates in the game for the head of Škoda. The fortnightly Automobilwoche wrote on its website that there are only two shortlisted candidates. The name of Schäfer’s successor should be known within two weeks.
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