POLAND Volkswagen will invest EUR 200 mln in the construction of a new production hall and the extension of its welding plant in Antoninek near Poznań.
“We have completed a number of projects for the various operations of the factory. We’ve launched production of a new line of Crafter, we’ve reached agreement with the trade unions, and we are preparing the expansion of our Antoninek plant for the production of a new vehicle – the Caddy 5, which will also be available with an electric drive, in 2020,” says Jens Ocksen, the plant manager at Volkswagen Poznań.
The company has also announced that it wil invest EUR 450 mln in 2018/2019 in Poland. When the new factory reaches full production, the number of cars manufactured every year in the Wielkopolska region will increase from 238,000 at present to 300,000.
At the end of 2017, almost 11,000 people were employed in four Volkswagen factories. This year, the company plans to hire a further 1,000 new employees. “Almost every third project we completed in 2017 was automotive and the investment in them came to a combined EUR 1.4 bln. Last yearalso saw a significant amount of further investment in this sector by companies such as LG Chem from Korea and Toyota from Japan. The increase in investment by Volkswagen only confirms that foreign investors can see the favourable conditions in Poland and are ready to increase their commitment and entrust Polish workers with the development of new products,” said Krzysztof Senger, the vice-president of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency.
