Automotive Cells Company (ACC) has won its bet. The gigafactory project built jointly by Stellantis, TotalEnergies and Mercedes will not have taken more than three years to see the light. Therefore, the construction deadline for the first battery production plant was respected. And now we can expect this to be the case for the other three battery-electric factory construction projects scheduled in France and more specifically in the Hauts-de-France region.
Because the first gigafactory inaugurated this Tuesday in Hauts-de-France is really just the first stone of an ambitious industrial commitment reaffirmed at the Paris Motor Show by Emmanuel Macron: to be able to produce two million electric cars with batteries manufactured in 2030. France.
Half a million “made in France” batteries produced in 2025
To achieve this goal, France currently relies on the Japanese Envision, which plans to build a gigafactory in Douai, about thirty kilometers from the ACC factory. But also in two other projects that should see the light of day in Dunkirk in the Pas-de-Calais. The first is carried by the French Verkor, the second by the Taiwanese Prologium.
But will these four projects be enough to win this bid for two million electric cars equipped with “made in France” batteries? Almost, at least if the manufacturers involved in these projects respect the increase in power that they have planned. In 2024, the incorporation of what has been announced supposes a production of enough batteries to equip almost half a million cars in 2025.
A Tesla gigafactory in France?
But it is above all from 2030 when we should approach two million, since the planned production capacity for these four gigafactories would then reach 144 GWh, which would ensure the assembly of 1.8 million electric cars. But it is appropriate to use the conditional for at least two reasons.
First, because you can always add other projects. Tesla, for example, plans to build a second gigafactory in Europe after the one in Berlin. During his visit to France in early May, Elon Musk did not say whether he had made his choice. But, in a tweet, he nonetheless stressed that efforts needed to be redoubled on nuclear energy and that France had taken smart steps in this regard.
If Tesla opted for France it would obviously be good news, but there could also be bad news. France, like the other countries in Europe, is under permanent threat from the subsidy bazooka launched by Joe Biden with his Inflation Reduction Act. Most of the industrialists who have planned investments on this side of the Atlantic are redoing their accounts to see if, in the end, it is not economically more interesting for them to invest in the United States.
Initially, the Americans lagged behind the Europeans. This can be seen in the distribution of production capacities that will take effect next year. But by opening their wallets wide, they are shuffling the cards. In the latest forecasts we can already see that they will be on par with Europe from 2027. That is why we must remain cautious.
Source: BFM TV
