PRAGUE:The Czech Republic is in talks with two potential investors, including Volkswagen, for an electric battery cell factory and is ready to offer billions of crowns in an incentive package, Industry Minister Karel Havlicek said on Friday.
The country, home to VW's Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, is one of the locations that the German auto group is considering for one of six battery cell plants its aims to build in Europe by 2030.
Havlicek said the government was also holding talks with another interested party but declined to name it.
"We are talking to two large partners, the communication is quite intensive," Havlicek told Reuters.
He said the aim was to have one factory for sure, but it was possible to have two eventually, as the government was preparing an incentive package.
"It will be worth billions (of crowns), it is a package of sorts, with both direct and indirect support, infrastructure, location, but also green energy supply for example," he said.
With the car industry ramping up efforts to transition to electric vehicles, countries have been vying for investment.
In central Europe, where the car sector is a major driver for the region's economies, Volkswagen has said the Czech Republic, Poland or Slovakia could be a site for battery cell production.
A company executive said on Tuesday VW was in "deep" discussions on a plant in the region but no decision had yet been taken.
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