July 7 (SeeNews) - Germany-based startup Next.e.Go is interested in the construction of a plant for manufacturing of electric cars in Bulgaria, Sofia-based media reported.
According to unofficial information, the plant will be located in the city of Lovech, in north-central Bulgaria, and will use the production base of Balkan machine manufacturing plant, business news outlet Economic.bg reported late on Tuesday.
The information that could not be independently confirmed but caretaker economy minister Kiril Petkov said in a video file published on the website of local Nova TV earlier on Tuesday that the investment in the future manufacturing plant by an unnamed European company is expected to be in the amount of some 140 million euro ($165.4 million) and will create some 1,000 new jobs,
Petkov also said that the name of the company and the location of the plant will be revealed on Saturday when Bulgaria expects to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the investor.
The plant will not just assemble electric vehicles, Petkov noted, adding that a large part of the added value will be created in Bulgaria. According to the caretaker economy minister, the components for the production are expected to be purchased from Bulgarian companies active in the automotive sector.
An e-mailed enquiry seeking comment from Next.e.Go went unanswered by the time of writing on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Petkov said that Bulgaria is in the final stage of negotiations with an unnamed big European electric cars manufacturer for the construction of a production plant in the country.
According to Economic.bg, the investment has been attracted due to the active work of Automotive Cluster Bulgaria (ACB) - a non-profit organisation representing the interests of automotive manufacturers, suppliers, and organisations providing services for the automotive industry.
Next.e.Go, founded in 2015, is specialised in the development and production of durable electric vehicles. The company has about 400 employees and benefits from a network of research and technology companies at its headquarters in the city of Aachen. Since 2018, Next.e.Go has been mass-producing its e.GO Life electric car at its plant in the Aachen Rothe Erde Industrial Park, according to information published on the company's LinkedIn profile.
($ = 0.846025 euro)