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Motorway signpost to Bitterfeld-Wolfen: Construction should be delayed by two years
Photo: Jan Woitas / dpa
It should actually open next year.
But now the construction of the planned battery factory of the Chinese manufacturer and Daimler supplier Farasis in Bitterfeld-Wolfen could come to the test again.
Upon request, the company announced that it was revising its Europe-wide "localization strategy".
This is about the decision as to which battery cells will be produced where.
The company left unanswered questions about the extent to which the construction of the planned factory in Saxony-Anhalt would be delayed or whether the construction of the factory could even be completely overturned.
All that was said was that Bitterfeld was still part of “potential localization strategies”.
More details on the revised strategy will be made within the next six weeks.
The »Handelsblatt« had reported that the project in Bitterfeld may no longer be realized, but at least a delay in construction of around two years until autumn 2024 can be assumed.
Last year, Daimler acquired around three percent of Farasis.
According to earlier information, Farasis wanted to invest around 600 million euros in the factory in Bitterfeld-Wolfen for the first construction phase. Up to 2000 jobs should be created. According to previous ideas, the location should also become the Group's new European headquarters. Farasis was founded in California in 2002 and is now based in Ganzhou, China. The company's German headquarters are in Frickenhausen near Esslingen.
Farasis is one of several battery cell suppliers to the car manufacturer Daimler.
The Stuttgart-based company builds the batteries for their electric cars themselves. So far, they have bought most of the cells that are in the batteries.
Farasis announced that deliveries to Daimler were ongoing and would also be secured for the future.
A Daimler spokesman denied speculation that the cooperation between the two companies had meanwhile broken down.
The cooperation continues.
fdi / dpa