South African investor ponders moving planned e-vehicle battery plant from Romania to Turkey

Metair, the South African owner of Romanian company Rombat, may cancel the EUR 12 mln investment in a battery factory for electric cars initially planned in Cernica, close to Bucharest, and could relocate the project to Turkey.

The EUR 12 million investment is in question now, most likely analyzed by the South African investor, and there is a risk, as Rombat officials have told Economedia, that the project will be relocated to Turkey.

In 2019, Rombat took over 35% of the shares of Prime Motors Industry Bucharest, a manufacturer of Li-Ion batteries and electric vehicles, as a first step toward developing larger manufacturing capacities.

In the same market, German company Draxlmaier also announced plans to invest in e-vehicle battery production in Romania, to develop a EUR 200 mln factory that will produce batteries for electric cars in Timișoara. The project is designed to be carried out in two stages, the first between 2020 and 2021, which involves the construction of the first production hall with an area of 10,125 sqm, and the second stage, between 2022 and 2030, in which a central 15,300 sqm building will be built.

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