Volkswagen to construct $2.2bn electric car plant to rival Tesla

German multinational automotive manufacturer Volkswagen AG is set to build a $2.2 billion electric car factory in Germany as it attempts to keep up with rival Tesla, according to Bloomberg.

This comes as Tesla Inc has just received conditional approval to start commercial production in its 5 billion euro ($5.5 billion) gigafactory near Berlin after months of delays.

The new Volkswagen factory will be built near Wolfsburg city.

It is set to start its construction phase in 2023 and start rolling out cars from its production line by 2026.

“Volkswagen is strengthening and sustaining the competitiveness of the main plant and giving the workforce a robust long-term perspective,” Bloomberg reported, citing brand chief Ralf Brandstaetter.

The new plant is targeting a competitive production time of 10 hours per vehicle.

The new plant also falls in line with Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess’s attempt to increase efficiency and boost the adoption of electric vehicles.