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Nidec plans $2bn EV motor factory in Europe for bet beyond China

KYOTO — Japan’s Nidec will spend about 200 billion yen ($1.9 billion) to build an electric vehicle motor factory in Serbia, Nikkei has learned, as the company looks to expand its foothold in Europe, whose EV market rivals that of China.

The motor manufacturer is apparently in the final stages of talks with local authorities on plans for the factory and an accompanying research center.

Nidec had concentrated resources on expanding its EV motor production in China, which has a fast-growing electric vehicle industry. Now, the company is boosting investment in Europe as well.

The new plant will reach annual output between 200,000 units and 300,000 units by 2023. Nidec will start producing EV drive motors in France and Poland as well, starting in 2022, but the Serbian facility will be one of the company’s largest production hubs in Europe.

European sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids in the first half of 2020 jumped 62% on the year to 399,000 vehicles, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association says. The data, which includes non-European Union members, places the continent alongside China as a leading global market for electrified autos.

Germany’s Volkswagen and Daimler are expanding their lineups of electrics, while Tesla plans to complete its first European EV factory in Germany by next year.

Driving that demand is the EU’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. Under measures being phased in for this year and the next, automakers operating in EU member countries are required to cap average fleet-wide emissions for new passenger vehicles at 95 grams per kilometer.

Automakers are scrambling to increase the ratio of EVs in their lineups to comply. The EU regulations are set to become stronger in 2025 and 2030.

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