10 september 2020
20:03
–
The Walloon government is no longer counting on the Chinese company Thunder Power to build electric cars on the old Caterpillar site in Charleroi. But the dream project was never viable.
–
“The successive delays at Thunder Power, even if some could be due to the Covid-19 crisis, mean that the project is no longer a priority for the site today.” With those words, the Walloon Economy Minister Willy Borsus (MR) on Thursday buried the plans of the Chinese company Thunder Power to build electric cars at the former Caterpillar site in Charleroi.
–
The Walloon Region proudly announced the investment in 2018. The car manufacturer from Taiwan, who had not yet sold a single car at that time, wanted to build tens of thousands of electric cars per year in Gosselies for the European market. The Chinese would create 650 jobs through the investment. That was big news for the region, which lost 2,300 jobs after the Caterpillar plant closed in 2016.
–
Chloé
But the Chinese promises quickly proved to be unreliable. While Thunder Power initially wanted to build a sedan ‘haut de gamme’ in Charleroi, soon only a compact model was left, called Chloé. As a result, the total investment in Charleroi falls to 175 million euros, of which the Walloon government has to cough up 50 million euros.
–
In addition, the Chinese demanded that the Walloon government deposit the money to their holding company in the British Virgin Islands, a notorious fiscal paradise. The Walloon government agreed with long teeth for fear of losing the project.
–
Decline
Time and time again further downgraded Thunder Power’s plans. The start of production was postponed from 2020 to 2022. The number of promised jobs fell to 350. On a trade mission to Shanghai, Minister Borsus had a ‘very positive’ conversation with Wellen Sham, the CEO of Thunder Power at the end of last year.
–
–
