FRANKFURT — Volkswagen strategies to create a new condition-of-the-art manufacturing unit near to its global headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, to raise its sport as the opening of Tesla’s gigafactory in close proximity to Berlin attracts nearer.

The plant would create a flagship complete-electric car code-named “Trinity” intended to near the know-how gap to Tesla and problem standard rivals with really automated driving functions.

The manufacturing unit would create about  250,000 autos each year and would be significantly less advanced than retooling existing operations, VW brand name main Ralf Brandstaetter instructed reporters in Wolfsburg on Tuesday.

A ultimate selection could be made next month when essential stakeholders evaluation the group’s five-year spending strategies.

VW explained it aimed for a production time of ten several hours for every vehicle for the Trinity product, comparable to how extensive it will just take Tesla to assemble the Product three at its first European manufacturing unit in Gruenheide in close proximity to Berlin.

Developing an all-new plant is an alternate to adapting the existing Wolfsburg plant to create the Trinity product, which VW states boundaries the options for far more radical variations to the production process.

“Which is why we are arranging greenfield design: productive and without the need of limitations by existing constructions,” Brandstaetter explained. “That way we are attaining time and space to progressively modernize the most important manufacturing unit in a considerably-achieving way and raise production there, also, to a new degree,” he included.

VW did not present a expense estimate for the manufacturing unit, which nevertheless calls for acceptance by the automaker’s supervisory board.