A dream (un)unable to come true
Eight years ago they were Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that 1 million will hit Polish roads in 2025 electric cars. Only dreams remained contract with a Chinese company and approximately PLN 580 million collected from the state and state-owned companies. To start car production, ElectroMobility Poland it still needs to raise between EUR 2 and 3 billion, and time is running out.
There was a lack of EU funds
It was supposed to be one of the sources of financing for the future factory European Union. Delays in securing them and competition from other bloc countries seeking Chinese investments are, he says Łukasz Malichenkodeputy general director at ElectroMobility Poland, the main reasons for suspending the project. In addition, the expiry date of the agreement concluded with the Chinese two years ago is approaching, which, together with the lengthening process of finding a strategic investor, “may lead to the need to revise our partnership or even build it with someone else,” Malichenko said in an interview for Bloomberg News. “It would be a big loss and a wasted opportunity.” Geely representatives declined to comment.
ElectroMobility Poland is ready to start construction
Malichenko said that if ElectroMobility manages to secure financing this year, it could begin construction of the plant as early as the first quarter of next year, with production starting in about two years. Located factory in Silesia could produce up to 150,000 vehicles per year. These vehicles would be sold under the brand Izera and potentially under trade names selected by its partner. In addition to electric battery cars, ElectroMobility could also expand the range of proposed cars by: plug-in hybrids.
EU tariff war
The Polish project fits into the plans Chinese car manufacturerswho want build an electric car factory in the EU. This way China they want to bypass higher tariffs introduced by EU policymakers last month. On the other hand, Beijing pressured car manufacturers to suspend their expansion in the EU while negotiations on the level of import tariffs took place.
China withdraws cooperation…
It looks like this is already paying off. Money.pl reported this week that the Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology joint venture with Stellantis NV has suspended its electric city car production project in Poland. As reported by the state agency for foreign trade and investment PAIH informed that such a decision had been made Chinese Ministry of Economy.
…or they will move the factory to the west
Malichenko added in an interview that during preliminary talks, lenders did not raise any objections regarding the ElectroMobility project. Last month, Energetyka24.pl reported that Geely may decide to investment in a factory in Spainbecause the Polish project takes too much time.
A missed opportunity
“We must remember that even if we have managed to secure competitive technology, there is a race to be in the best position European market” – said Malichenko. “For both us and our partner, further delays are simply a missed business opportunity.” Currently, there are just over 74,000 electric cars on Polish roads.
