Automotive industry Tesla sticks to factory expansion in Germany

The US electric car manufacturer Tesla has committed to the planned expansion of its German factory in Grünheide near Berlin. However, the company is still waiting for more speed in sales.

"We will not invest several billion euros in the expansion of the factory without the signals being very clear that the market will demand it," said André Thierig, plant manager of the only European Tesla car factory, to the German news agency DPA

The Tesla plant manager not only made it clear that the construction of another factory would cost several billion euros, but also named the condition for this.

"We firmly believe that the market will pick up again. It is certainly a question of how quickly and when." He pointed to the production of vehicles for the British Isles as a positive signal. "The fact that we are now also serving the right-hand drive market in the UK and Ireland from Berlin means that we have a larger sales market that we can access directly."

Global decline in profits

The electric car market is in the doldrums. In the first six months of this year, the number of new electric car registrations in Germany was 184,125, including 21,249 Teslas, according to figures from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority. Things looked better in the same period last year: 220,244 e-vehicles were registered then, including 36,384 Teslas.

The company led by the tech billionaire closed the second quarter in a row with a significant drop in profits worldwide. Tesla has been manufacturing electric cars in Grünheide for more than two years. According to the company, just under 12,000 employees work there. The planned global job cuts at Tesla also had consequences for the Gigafactory in Grünheide near Berlin, where Tesla cut 400 jobs.

Delay in building permit

Nevertheless, the car manufacturer intends to ramp up production from the current estimated 250,000 cars per year to one million in the future. The first application for environmental approval from the state of Brandenburg for the expansion has been submitted, but has been delayed. Initially, this only concerns construction work on existing buildings - for which the State Environmental Agency has granted provisional approval. "We expect the first partial approval to come in September or October," said Thierig. The state environmental agency also gave a similar timetable. Two further applications are planned so far, including one for the approval of a new factory.

Resistance is growing

Protests against the US company - especially against a planned expansion involving deforestation and the construction of a freight depot - have increased. Since February, environmental activists have been camping in the forest near the factory to protest against an expansion involving deforestation and a new freight depot as well as water consumption. Following a public consultation in Grünheide, the majority of whom spoke out against the expansion, less forest is to be cleared.

In March, there was an attack on Tesla's power supply near the factory. Car production was put on hold for almost a week due to a power outage. In May, environmental activists attempted to storm the Tesla site.

Planning work is currently underway for a new freight station. This requires the clearing of forest owned by the state. "We are in talks with the forestry department about the purchase," said Thierig. The finance committee of the Brandenburg state parliament must give the green light - it remains to be seen whether this will happen in this legislative period.

Tesla rejects concerns

Since construction, there have been major concerns from environmentalists and local residents, partly because the plant is partly located in a water protection area. The consumption of fresh water last year was less than 500,000 cubic meters, which is significantly less than the agreed amount of water per year. According to Tesla, 1.8 cubic meters of water are used per car. This is well below the average for the automotive industry, the company emphasized.

Thierig is critical of the protest: "We build electric cars here, we are not an oil refinery or anything else."