St. Thomas in running for 2500 job EV battery plant: Analyst
A Volkswagen dealership nearing completion on Wharncliffe Road in London is currently the only sign of new investment by the automaker in Southwestern Ontario.
But there are growing indications Volkswagen, and perhaps some other automakers, have their eyes on a 323-hectare (800 acres) parcel of land north of St. Thomas.
While the automaker and municipal officials have “nothing to share at this time”, the land south of Ron McNeil Line and east of Highbury Avenue was teaming with land surveyors on Thursday.
The industrial-size plot was secured by the City of St. Thomas last summer.
At the time, St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston acknowledged there were rumblings of investment by EV manufacturers in Southwestern Ontario.
“Lots of talk on electric vehicles and the batteries they use,” Preston told CTV London.
The talk has only amplified since then.
A German business newspaper has reported Volkswagen is considering Ontario for an EV battery factory and has retained real estate and legal consultants.
Further, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, recently visited Volkswagen officials in Germany.
While neither of those developments indicates St. Thomas will ultimately land the plant, an industry insider say the region is in the hunt.
“What I would say is, it is definitely on a short-list of a series of investor considerations”, states Flavio Volpe, the president of the Automotive Parts Manufactures Association of Canada.
Volpe says St. Thomas is wise to prepare its land quickly as multiple Canadian automakers look for spots to build EV batteries and create an estimated 2500 jobs.
With Windsor already landing a $5-billion investment in a battery plant, Volpe says indications are this region is likely the next stop.
“St. Thomas and London have been translated into several pitch documents over the last 12 months or so,” he confirmed.
Even if Volkswagen does not build in St. Thomas, Volpe predicts another automaker will.
“The best places to secure the right type of labour, the right plot of land with multi-transportation access and inside a cluster of part and tool suppliers is in London and St. Thomas.”
Other Canadian automakers who have yet to build an EV battery plant include Toyota and Ford.
While neither is known to be looking at the St. Thomas site, the latter's return would be a homecoming for the automaker, which closed its Ford St. Thomas Assembly Plant in 2012.
While Volpe makes it clear any scenario is possible, he believes St. Thomas, London and Volkswagen would be a good fit.
“If you want to create a community town and you are a Volkswagen, I don’t know which one would be better to go to. I mean the community will absolutely absorb you.”
(With Files from CTV London’s Gerry Dewan)
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