Chinese Car Manufacturer Thunder Power has chosen Wallonia-Belgium to open its European Manufacturing Facilities.
After months of negotiation, Thunder Power Holdings and Wallonia investment fund SOGEPA have concluded a deal to manufacture a new electric city car called Chloé in Gosselies, Wallonia. The site will also include an R&D center.
Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Wallonia Minister of Economy, Shen Wei, President of Thunder Power Holdings and Paul Magnette, Charleroi Mayor, unveiled the new electric car Chloé last Friday Oct 19.
This small city car, the first Thunder Power's model to be produced in Gosselies, is offering above-average specifications like an extended driving range of 350km.
350 jobs will be created in the short term and the pilot production is expected to be launched in Q4 2020. With production ramp-up, the company is planning to bring the total number of jobs to 4,000. The initial Investment, a combination of public and private funding amounts to EUR175M.
Availability of high-skilled labor force, financing, highly supportive R&D climate and European market access, made of Wallonia the ideal candidate to welcome this high-tech industrial project.