Toronto (Canada), Aug 23 – Canada will provide Volkswagen (VW) and Mercedes-Benz with key minerals for the production of electric vehicles, such as cobalt, nickel and lithium, after the agreements signed on Tuesday by the two German companies with the Canadian authorities.
The agreements were signed by the CEO of VW, Herbert Diess, and directors of Mercedes-Benz with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada, Francois-Philippe Champagne, within the framework of the visit that the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz , performs the North American country.
The deal with VW will allow Germany’s leading automaker to secure supplies of critical minerals for battery production. VW will also open in Canada offices of PowerCo, a subsidiary of the manufacturer recently created to produce batteries.
For its part, the agreement with Mercedes-Benz will serve to improve collaboration with Canadian companies for the supply of materials necessary for the production of electric vehicles.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who along with Scholz attended the signing in Toronto, said that cooperation with VW and Mercedes-Benz will strengthen the Canadian mining sector.
Trudeau added that Canada can demonstrate that mining in the country is more sustainable than that carried out in others and that the minerals needed for the industry do not have to come “from authoritarian countries.”
In recent months, Canada has accelerated its efforts to become one of the key countries for the production of electric vehicles.
In March, Stellantis reached an agreement with the Canadian authorities to install a mass production plant for batteries in the country and a month later General Motors (GM) announced that it will invest 2,000 million US dollars to expand 2 of its Canadian plants to produce electric vehicles.
The automotive sector supports some 500,000 jobs in Canada and contributes 16 billion Canadian dollars (12.347 million US dollars) to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Canada wants all vehicles sold in the country to be free of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
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