09/25/2023 11:33 am (current 09/25/2023 11:33 am)
High-voltage storage systems for electric cars will be installed near Straßkirchen ©APA/dpa (topic image)
Citizens of Straßkirchen in Lower Bavaria have paved the way for a large battery factory owned by German car manufacturer BMW, in which 600,000 high-voltage batteries for electric cars will be assembled annually. In a referendum held on Sunday, a clear majority decided to support the location of the factory, as announced by the community.
The citizens’ initiative “Livable Gäuboden” forced the decision. The local council has previously clearly supported the deal, which is expected to create 3,200 jobs.
According to preliminary results, the council’s request in favor of the agreement received 75.3% yes votes and 24.7% no votes. The citizens’ initiative, directed against the factory, received only 29.6 percent yes votes and 70.4 percent no votes. The two questions were asked separately.
For BMW, the factory, which will now be built in an area belonging to Straßkirchen and the neighboring city of Irlbach, is of central importance for increasing the production of electric cars. From there, the vehicle factories in Dingolfing, 40 kilometers away, as well as Regensburg and Munich will be supplied. The location is close to the A3 and A92 motorways. Large, heavy batteries could therefore be transported directly to car factories using electric trucks; additional warehouses would be unnecessary.
If citizens had decided against the factory, the Munich car manufacturer says it would probably have moved to a location outside of Bavaria. Both the manufacturer, which is already an important employer in the region, and Bavarian politicians had already pointed out the signaling effect of the decision. Even Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) promoted the agreement at the party conference on Saturday.
Opponents of the plant, on the other hand, warned, among other things, of additional traffic, the loss of valuable arable land and an exacerbation of the shortage of skilled workers in local companies due to competition from new jobs at BMW.