A global electric vehicle charging station manufacturer is making moves to expand in the U.S. Wallbox, a Barcelona-based company with two factories in Europe and one in China, announced September 1 it would open its first U.S. factory in Arlington, Texas, to build alternating and direct current charging stations for the North American market.
In a company release, Wallbox said the 130,000 square-foot facility could start production as early as 2022. It will directly employ 250 people by 2030, when it is expected to reach its full production capacity of 500,000 charging units a year.
Plans for the Arlington factory include production lines for three Wallbox products: two chargers for home installation, one of which can use an electric vehicle as a backup power source for the home, and a third for public use in parking lots.
The automotive and energy markets in the U.S. are at an “inflection point” thanks to public and private pressure to switch to electric vehicles, said Enric Asunción, co-founder and CEO of Wallbox. In a statement, Asunción added the new factory would be “an instrumental step in our expansion in the North American market, enabling us not only to meet the growing demand, but also to accelerate the launch of new products.” In its announcement, the company specifically cited President Biden’s push to make electric cars constitute 50% of new car sales by 2030.
In July, Wallbox also announced a strategic alliance with SunPower Corp, allowing customers who buy solar panels from SunPower to have Wallbox chargers installed simultaneously. Wallbox North America GM Douglas Alfaro said the new factory and the strategic alliance were “great strides” in the company's U.S. expansion.
According to Wallbox, Arlington was chosen as the location for the factory based on its centrality between the East and West coasts, access to cross-country highway corridors and proximity to Dallas and Fort Worth.
“The U.S. factory is another important milestone to expand our local footprint. Wallbox will be able to better serve American customers, increase its solutions offerings and support the nation’s transition toward electric mobility,” Alfaro said.
Wallbox was founded in 2015 and currently employs about 700 people in 68 countries.
