European electric vehicle charger maker Wallbox on Monday began construction of its U.S. plant, in Arlington, Texas.
The 130,000-square-foot factory will begin production in early fall and manufacture more than 250,000 units in 2022, the company said.
“This production facility allows us to serve our customers well into the next decade in terms of what we expect to see for growth in the U.S. market,” Wallbox North America General Manager Douglas Alfaro told Automotive News.
Wallbox has invested $11 million in initial construction and hopes to create 250 jobs at the plant by 2030. It will first produce Wallbox’s Pulsar Plus AC home chargers before expanding to different types of units in 2023.
The company said it chose Arlington because of the city’s position as a transit hub between the U.S. coasts and its proximity to major cities such as Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.
The plant is just the beginning of Wallbox’s expansion into North America and will allow for improved delivery time and freight costs for customers. Wallbox has worked on sourcing American suppliers for the factory as well to help reduce costs, Alfaro said.
This is the company’s fourth plant. It opened its third operation, in Barcelona, Spain, in December.