BorgWarner broke ground on a new plant in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, where it plans to produce electrification products such as electric motors, inverters and battery management systems for a wide range of global automakers in Europe. Investment in the new facility where production is slated to partially begin in Q3 2022 and at full capacity in 2024 amounts to 100 million euros. The 17,000-square-meter facility will house different functions including operations, engineering, quality and purchasing and is expected to create about 300 new jobs. BorgWarner executives, government officials and a priest attended the groundbreaking ceremony to wish prosperity and success for the new facility.
“Europe is a very important manufacturing base for global automakers. Our newest plant is strategically located to serve our customers with localized production and to meet growing demand for electrification products,” said Tony Allen, President and General Manager Europe, BorgWarner PowerDrive Systems. “The new plant in Viana fits BorgWarner’s global growth strategy and demonstrates the company’s commitment to Portugal as an industrial location,” Hugues Simion, Plant Manager, BorgWarner PowerDrive Systems Viana, added. “BorgWarner’s investment in a new industrial plant for the electric vehicle segment in Viana do Castelo is a clear demonstration of Portugal’s attractiveness for high value-added projects and a clear commitment to the future of electric mobility. We are very pleased with the confidence that BorgWarner once again has in the country,” said the President of AICEP, Luís Castro Henriques.
As part of its Charging Forward initiative, BorgWarner is accelerating the company’s electrification strategy and has announced plans to grow electric vehicle revenues to approximately 45% by 2030, along with a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.