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Bavarian village to decide future of key BMW factory

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A BMW emblem on the hood of a BMW car in Moscow, Russia, 04 March 2022. EPA-EFE/Yuri Kochetkov, file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/business/03/10/20220310-bmw-epa.jpg"/><figcaption>A BMW emblem on the hood of a BMW car in Moscow, Russia, 04 March 2022. <em>EPA-EFE/Yuri Kochetkov, file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>FRANKFURT, Germany — A sleepy Bavarian village could decide the future of BMW&#x27;s drive towards electromobility as it goes to the polls on Sunday over the German automobile giant&#x27;s plans to build a huge battery factory.</p><p>The residents of Strasskirchen, around 90 minutes&#x27; drive from Munich with a population of around 2,700, are being called upon to vote in a referendum on the construction of the factory.</p><p>With German industry in a slump amid slowing global demand and high energy costs, the project is billed as a vote of confidence in the future of products &quot;made in Germany&quot;.</p><p>It also comes at a crucial time for BMW as the car industry transitions from combustion-engine vehicles to electric-powered ones.</p><p>But in Strasskirchen, some residents fear the factory will transform their leafy village on the edge of the Bavarian forest into an industrial zone with roaring trucks.</p><p>&quot;More than 100 hectares of prime arable land would be destroyed forever,&quot; a mistake &quot;in view of climate change&quot;, said Thomas Spoetzl, 44, a spokesman for local residents who are opposed to the plans.</p><p>Martin Goetz, a 45-year-old native of Strasskirchen and spokesman for the other side, disagrees.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/16/23/include-e-bikes-e-trikes-in-e-vehicle-incentives-doe">Include e-bikes, e-trikes in e-vehicle incentives: DOE</a></li></ul><div><strong>High-voltage batteries</strong></div><p>The factory would be &quot;a huge opportunity for the region to invest in sustainable technologies and jobs for the future&quot;, he said.</p><p>The two camps have been at loggerheads for months.</p><p>BMW wants to invest &quot;several hundred million euros&quot; in the plant, which will be &quot;at the heart of the development of electric vehicles in Germany&quot;, according to Alexander Kiy, who is in charge of the project.</p><p>The factory would employ more than 3,200 people and churn out 600,000 high-voltage batteries a year to supply electric cars made at BMW&#x27;s plants in Regensburg, Munich and Dingolfing, the company&#x27;s largest European site.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/22/23/pnoc-eyeing-to-set-up-e-vehicle-charging-station">PNOC eyeing to set up e-vehicle charging station</a></li></ul><p>If Strasskirchen votes against the plant, it would be a huge blow to BMW&#x27;s planned range of electric vehicles, scheduled to hit the market from 2025.</p><p>Because batteries are large and heavy, it makes sense for them to be produced as close as possible to vehicle assembly lines.</p><p>For this reason, BMW has already built battery factories to supply its plants in Hungary, the United States, Mexico and China.</p><p>&quot;For Bavaria, and for Germany in general, it must still be possible to create a major industrial site of this type,&quot; said Armin Soller, mayor of the nearby village of Irlbach.</p><p>But as things stand at the moment, &quot;there is a clear reluctance to create industrial sites in Germany&quot;, said Milan Nedeljkovic, a board member at BMW in charge of production.</p><div><strong>&#x27;Germany pact&#x27;</strong></div><p>Germany &quot;needs a commitment to economic growth, especially at a time of transformation&quot; in terms of energy and digital technology, he said.</p><p>Europe&#x27;s biggest economy has drawn several major investments in recent months as it seeks to bring home production of vital supplies, such semiconductors, in a bid to cut reliance on China.</p><p>In a drive to move faster, Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently also called on the country&#x27;s regions and municipalities to support a &quot;Germany pact&quot; to make the country more agile, dynamic and less bureaucratic.</p><p>But the business community remains unconvinced.</p><p>&quot;We need a global concept that will ensure we remain competitive and maintain our locations,&quot; Arno Antlitz, Volkswagen&#x27;s chief financial officer, told reporters in Frankfurt on Monday.</p><p>Just days ahead of the referendum, the mayor of Strasskirchen, Christian Hirtreiter, voiced confidence that the mood was &quot;clearly in favor of BMW&quot;.</p><p>A victory for the car giant would be against the tide of companies leaving the region.</p><p>In July, for example, a paper mill on the nearby Plattling industrial estate with 500 employees announced that it was shutting down — due to high energy costs.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2782922" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

With German industry in a slump, the project is billed as a vote of confidence in the future of products 'made in Germany'.