Volkswagen Group announced that it will invest 900 million euros in Northvolt, a Swedish electric vehicle battery manufacturer, to jointly develop and produce electric vehicle batteries.
Volkswagen will invest 900 million euros in Northvolt, which will be used to buy a 20% stake in the company and exchange for a seat on the board of supervisors. The two parties plan to set up a 50% joint venture company within this year and set up the first 16 GW battery production line in Europe. According to Volkswagen Group's preliminary assumptions, the plant will start construction in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, Germany in 2020, and officially start production in 2023 or 2024.
Volkswagen Group Board member Sommer said that Volkswagen Group is preparing for its electric vehicle production transformation strategy at all levels. Northvolt is the ideal partner for Volkswagen in Europe. Relying on the company's low-emission, environmentally friendly battery production technology, Volkswagen Group hopes to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicle battery production in Germany.
Currently, relying heavily on Asian companies for battery supply has become a major bottleneck restricting European car companies' transition to electric vehicles. The lack of battery capacity has severely restricted the process of European car companies' expansion of electric vehicle production capacity and the launch of new models, and Volkswagen is no exception. This is why Volkswagen is eager to build its own battery pack production line in Germany as soon as possible and form capacity. At the same time, the cost ratio of batteries in electric vehicles is quite high. If auto companies can control this part of the cost, it will greatly help them control the cost of the entire vehicle and increase profits.
Industry analysis believes that, at present, Europe, especially Germany, has realized that the production of electric vehicle batteries is related to the future of the European automotive industry. Therefore, the formation of Europe's own electric vehicle battery production capacity has become a top priority for the European automotive industry. At present, Germany, as a major automobile industry, has played a leading role in this regard. Industry experts believe that this will add new variables to the global electric vehicle battery industry.