The citizens of Straßkirchen have cleared the way for a large battery factory for the car manufacturer BMW in Lower Bavaria. At a referendum on Sunday, a clear majority voted to support the establishment of the factory with several thousand jobs. The community announced this. The plant is expected to build 600,000 high-voltage storage units for electric cars every year.
Specifically, according to preliminary results, 75.3 percent of citizens voted for the council’s request in favor of the BMW location. The citizens’ initiative, which was directed against the factory, only received 29.6 percent yes votes. The two questions were asked separately.
The group was pleased: “We can use the opportunities here in Bavaria that the transformation to electromobility offers,” said BMW production director Milan Nedeljković. Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) called the result on X (formerly Twitter) “a good signal for the region and Bavaria as a business location.” Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) said: “Bavaria remains a car-friendly country.” Of course it hurts him that “valuable land” is being lost, but in the end the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
The “Livable Gäuboden Citizens’ Initiative”, which is against the work, pushed through the referendum. The local councils of Straßkirchen and Irlbach, in whose district the plant is to be built, unanimously approved the planned settlement. Another citizens’ initiative also drummed up support for the plant, and of course BMW also promoted the location.
Opponents of the plant criticized, among other things, the fact that around 100 hectares of prime arable land would be destroyed for construction. The factory also brings with it a lot of additional traffic. And the resulting jobs didn’t convince opponents either: “Every ‘high-quality’ job at BMW means a lack of workers at other companies,” it says on their homepage. They received support from, among others, the Federal Nature Conservation Association, which does not consider the possibilities for a land-saving option to have been exhausted yet.
Straßkirchen has a good 3,000 inhabitants. The first mayor, Christian Hirtreiter, had clearly positioned himself in favor of the plant. BMW means work and prosperity not only for the communities, but for the entire region. Local companies also benefited, he said recently. In addition, hundreds of jobs have recently been lost at other companies in the region. BMW wants to supply its Dingolfing, Regensburg and Munich plants with the batteries that will be built in Straßkirchen – directly and with electric trucks via the nearby A 3 and A 92 motorways.
BMW board member Ilka Horstmeier recently emphasized the signaling effect of the referendum beyond the factory: “Many companies will take a close look at whether people still want to invest in sustainable technologies and future-proof jobs in Bavaria,” she said. If the citizens said no, BMW had announced that it would move away – probably to a location outside of Bavaria.