Volkswagen to build electric vehicle battery plant in southwestern Ontario

Volkswagen is building a factory to make electric vehicle batteries in St. Thomas, south of London, bringing auto jobs back to an area that lost a Ford assembly plant to closure a decade ago.

Europe's largest automaker said Monday that its PowerCo subsidiary's plant by will be the company's first overseas facility making batteries for EVs.

Today's news is a major vote of confidence in Canada and Ontario," said a joint statement from federal Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne and Vic Fedeli, Ontario's minister of economic development, job creation and trade.

This investment is another significant step as we build a clean transportation sector to meet global and North American demand for zero-emission vehicles."

The number of jobs to be created was not immediately available.

Chrysler parent company Stellantis announced last year it will build an EV battery plant in Windsor that will employ 2,500 people.

While Volkswagen does not assemble vehicles in Ontario, five other automakers do - Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Honda and Toyota.

Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1