https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-outlines-plan-to-create-largest-auto-factory-in-germany-4aaea3bc?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1
Tesla TSLA 2.29%increase; green up pointing triangle is planning to double the size of its factory near Berlin to produce up to one million electric cars a year, an expansion that could make the plant the largest auto manufacturing facility in Germany.
The electric-car maker has applied for approval to expand its existing factory in the eastern state of Brandenburg, to increase production capacity for vehicles and batteries, according to documents filed in recent days with local officials.
Tesla has received tentative approval for some changes to the plant but full approval is pending completion of an environmental-impact study that will be subject to input from local citizens. Local officials will post Tesla’s application online from this week, and local residents will have the chance to raise objections. A public hearing could take place in October to discuss any issues.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
When Tesla initially built the factory, environmental groups slowed down the process as they fought with the company over the potential impact of the plant on local forests and wildlife, as well as the amount of water that the facility would drain from local sources. The new application could face similar resistance.
Tesla began producing its Model Y at the plant on the outskirts of the German capital early last year. The popular all-electric SUV was the bestselling vehicle in Europe in the first quarter, according to Jato Dynamics, a consumer research group. In March, Tesla tweeted that production at the plant had reached 5,000 vehicles a day.
While Tesla is still dwarfed by Germany’s big auto brands in overall sales, Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 were the bestselling all-electric vehicles in Europe in the first quarter, handily outpacing Volkswagen’s ID.3 and ID.4., according to Jato.
In the first five months of the year, Tesla sold 138,294 new cars in the European Union, its free trade association partners and the U.K., growing its share of total new vehicle sales in the region to 2.6%, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. That put the Austin, Texas-based company ahead of established manufacturers such as Nissan and Volvo.
The European market for electric vehicles has slowed some, but sales growth remains strong. During the first five months of this year, the latest data available, sales of all-electric vehicles rose 42.3% to 730,137 vehicles in the EU, EFTA, and the U.K., data from the manufacturers association shows.
In May, battery electric vehicles accounted for nearly 14% of new car sales, the association said.
Germany’s IG Metall labor union welcomed the prospect of additional jobs at Tesla’s Grünheide plant. However, the union also noted that the company has laid off some employees and contract workers.
“Almost 200 regular employees were laid off or signed severance agreements last month alone,” said Dirk Schulze, IG Metall’s district manager for Berlin, Brandenburg, and Saxony.
Tesla’s plant in Grünheide isn’t unionized, though IG Metall maintains an office near the plant and does outreach among the Tesla workforce.
