Volkwagen CEO Confirms That Plant in Bratislava Will Be Expanded

Wolfsburg, November 9 (TASR) - Volkswagen CEO Herbert Deiss has confirmed in an interview for German weekly Automobilwoche that the company is preparing to expand production capacities at its plant in Bratislava, explaining that the reason behind the move is the fact that the carmaker's plans to set up a new plant that would have produced several models in Turkey have been dropped. "We've decided to boost capacities in Bratislava," stated Diess, adding that the coronavirus pandemic and the fact that the company doesn't need a new plant at the moment also played a role in making the decision. It's estimated that the investment should reach approximately €1 billion, which will allow for building a new assembly line and body shop, among other things. Diess in the interview praised the plant in Bratislava, adding that the investment in Slovakia won't cost the company more than the original plan for Turkey. "The only disadvantage is that we won't make the market in Turkey more accessible for us...," he stated, confirming that the original plan is definitely off the table. zel/df