Volkswagen CEO says building EV batteries in Europe ‘practically unviable’ due to soaring energy costs

Volkswagen’s CEO warned this week that manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles in the European Union will be “practically unviable” if leaders fail to rein in ballooning energy costs.”Unless we manage to reduce energy prices in Germany and Europe quickly and reliably,” Thomas Schäfer wrote in a Monday LinkedIn post, “investments in energy-intensive production or new battery cell factories in Germany and the EU will be practically unviable.”Volkswagen emblem is seen on the car in Krakow, Poland, on November 10, 2022. “The value creation in this area will take place elsewhere,” he said.Schäfer said an outline for industrial-policy cooperation between France and Germany last week, “falls short in crucial areas and does not address the envisaged priorities.”EUROZONE INFLATION FALLS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER A YEARHe lamented that Germany and the European Union are “rapidly…

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