(OTTAWA) German auto giant Volkswagen has agreed with Canada to provide more than $13 billion in financial assistance over the next ten years for the construction of an electric vehicle battery plant in southwest Ontario.
Volkswagen announced last month that it had chosen the city of St. Thomas to build its first overseas mega-factory.
While it was already known that Canada and Ontario had both put money on the table to attract Volkswagen, neither had mentioned an amount until now.
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne provided some details in an interview with Bloomberg News on Thursday and La Presse Canadienne verified the information.
The contract provides an initial investment of 700 million and up to 13 billion in production subsidies for each battery manufactured and sold.
The grants will not take the form of tax credits, but are designed to match what Volkswagen could have received had it chosen a site in the United States to build its new plant.
