German electric car maker Next.e.Go is building a micro-factory in Bulgaria. The factory will be the company’s second, and its first in Bulgaria.

Next.e.GO produces a battery electric vehicle called ‘Life Next’ which is designed for zero-emission urban mobility. According to the company, its vehicle combines affordability, low total cost of ownership, and life-cycle sustainability.

The e.GO Life Next model is already on sale in Germany. In 2022, the company plans to introduce a next generation of the e.GO Life model and its derivatives including e.GO Life Cross.

The new factory will be a cyber-physical twin of the company’s first plant in Aachen, Germany. It will have capacity for up to 30,000 vehicles per year. Production is scheduled to begin at the start of 2024. The factory is expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs in the region.

The new factory incorporates Industry 4.0 technologies, including an Internet of Production architecture and advanced automation. The company claims it is the first fully connected micro factory in the battery electric vehicle industry.

“This strategic agreement is another key milestone in Next.e.GO Mobile’s decentralised growth, leveraging our game-changing micro factory and product architecture in transforming the global urban mobility. Our technology, the unique production and the entire eco-system that we create set us apart and expand our ecological and economic contribution far beyond our factories into countries and local communities”, said Ali Vezvaei, Chairman of the Board of Next e.GO Mobile SE. “We are very pleased to expand our footprint into Bulgaria – a country with amazing human capital, competitive terrain and well-developed tech and industrial clusters.”

Besides its factory in Germany and the planned facility in Bulgaria, the company has announced plans to replicate its cyber-physical micro factories in Greece and Mexico.