Volkswagen is thinking about moving production from Eastern Europe. Slovak branch talks about disinformation | TVNOVINY.sk – TVNOVINY.sk

Updated 15:14 23/09/2022, 10:47 Volkswagen could move production from the domestic market as well as from Eastern European countries if the current gas shortage continues beyond the next winter. The Bloomberg agency came up with this information. However, the Bratislava plant should not be affected. The Slovak branch talks about misinformation and fabrications. The largest car manufacturer in Europe announced this week that if problems with gas supplies persist for a long time after this winter, one of the options for solving production in the medium term is to move it to other countries. VW has large plants in Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and these countries are among the most dependent on Russian gas in Europe. Will it also affect Slovakia? The Slovak branch of the German car company did not confirm this information, on the contrary. “I ask for your understanding that we do not comment on misinformation and fabrications. At Volkswagen Slovakia, we are currently intensively preparing for the launch of the new Volkswagen Passat and ŠKODA SUPERB models, the start of production of which is scheduled for next year. The work is going according to plan and the investment of up to 500 million euros will also bring new jobs,” Volkswagen Slovakia spokeswoman Lucia Kovarovič Makayová told TVNOVINY.sk. On the other hand, the car company admits that it is also troubled by the energy crisis. “We are very carefully monitoring, analyzing and evaluating the entire situation and its impact on the company’s operations, including from the point of view of energy availability and prices,” Kovarovič Makayová explained. Therefore, he is looking for ways to reduce consumption. “We have a plan for savings in the field of energy, with a long-term and targeted focus on identifying and deploying measures and technologies that reduce the energy intensity of production and costs,” she added. ​Production would move closer to LNG terminals Russia’s decision to significantly limit natural gas supplies to Europe has raised fears that gas will be rationed in Germany. The latest information that the reservoirs are already 90% full, which is why Germany has exceeded the original expectations, has eased fears about the lack of gas during the winter months, but the Germans still face the risk that they will not be able to replenish their depleted reserves without Russian gas in the next season. In the case of the company’s decision to move production, the countries in the south-west of Europe, or the coastal areas in northern Europe, would have the best chances. According to the Bloomberg agency. This is because they have better access to liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported by sea. Volkswagen already has plants in, for example, Portugal, Spain and Belgium, i.e. in countries that have LNG terminals.