Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has decided against choosing Flanders as the location for its giant battery factory, which would have brought an additional 3,000 jobs to the region.
The company, which aims to exclusively produce electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030, originally considered around 50 sites around the world for the new productions facility, where batteries would be produced to be shipped to other Volvo sites.
Two months ago, Flanders was among the final four under consideration. Volvo already has one large site in Ghent where around 2,000 cars are produced every year. The company is one of the most important industrial employers in Flanders, employing some 7,000 people.
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In October, Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon visited the company’s CEO, Hakan Samuelsson, in Sweden to convince him to construct the new plant in Flanders.
However, on Thursday, Flanders was removed from the shortlist for the multi-million euro investment project, the company confirmed to Belga News Agency. The company is expected to announce its final decision before the end of this year.
