- 'Windmill love' sees Dutch artist become mill operator
- US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
- Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
- Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
- Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
- Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
- Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
- Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
- Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
- What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
- Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
- Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
- 'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
- 'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
- Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
- Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
- Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
- The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
- Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
- Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
- Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
- Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
- New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
- NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
- Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
- Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
- Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
- Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
- Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
- West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
- Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
- Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
- Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
- S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
- Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
- Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
- G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
- European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
- Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
- Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
- Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
- Spain train driver jailed for 2.5 years over deadly 2013 crash
- Paris poised for Olympic opening ceremony spectacular
- Judoka fails doping test in first case at Paris Olympics
- Holder and Da Silva keep England at bay after West Indies collapse
- Alpine F1 boss Bruno Famin to leave in August
- Ethiopia declares three days of mourning after landslide tragedy
- Brazilian dunes dotted with dazzling pools make UNESCO heritage list
- Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
- French Rugby's Jaminet suspended 34 weeks after racist video: Federation
Volkswagen plans 2 bn euro electric car plant in Germany
German auto giant Volkswagen said on Friday it had approved a 2 billion euro investment in a new electric car plant, as it seeks to overhaul its business in the face of stiff competition from US rival Tesla.
Construction on the new German factory next to the group's historic home in Wolfsburg will begin "as early as spring 2023" for a production start in 2026, VW said in a statement.
The new site will be dedicated to the production of mass-market "Trinity" vehicles, the centre point of Volkswagen's new all-electric fleet.
The decision was an "important milestone" for the company, the head of the VW brand Ralf Brandstaetter said in a statement, as it plans its move away from traditional combustion engines.
The Volkswagen group -- whose 12 brands include Audi, Porsche and Skoda -- is pumping 35 billion euros into the shift to electric vehicles and aims to become the world's largest electric carmaker by 2025.
The announcement of the $2.2 billion investment came on the same day as Volkswagen's rival, electric car pioneer Tesla got the green light from local officials to start production at a new plant near Berlin, Tesla's first "gigafactory" in Europe.
With Tesla's ambitions parked on its front lawn, Volkswagen is hoping to match its US rival with the new purpose-built factory by producing new electric vehicles in the space of 10 hours.
Currently, an electric Volkswagen takes around 30 hours to be built at the group's plant in Zwickau in eastern Germany, group CEO Herbert Diess told employees in November.
X.Brito--PC