Austin comes up short in bid for EV HQ project, loses to North Carolina city
Austin Business Journal, Justin Sayers, and Ben Tobin
AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) — A California-based electric vehicle charging company backed by several of the world’s biggest car manufacturers almost picked the city of Austin for a $10.1 million corporate headquarters and research project before opting for a North Carolina city instead, according to interviews and documents obtained by the Austin Business Journal.
Ionna LLC — a joint venture created by BMW, General Motors Co., Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis — on June 11 announced it selected Durham for the investment that will take place over the next five years and create roughly 200 jobs with a minimum average wage of $128,457. The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Economic Investment Committee approved a performance-based job creation grant of $4.1 million to incentivize Ionna’s project.
But the company was also evaluating Austin as the “competing site,” according to incentive documents obtained by the Triangle Business Journal and shared with the Austin Business Journal. Committee members noted that the decision came down to labor availability, quality of life, business environment and available incentives, among other factors. Ionna is set to invest $10 million in the new facility by the end of 2028.
Read more at Austin Business Journal.
