Volkswagen Planning €10 Billion Battery Gigafactory

Volkswagen is considering edifice a multi-billion-euro battery mill equally business office of a major expansion of its electric-car portfolio, Handelsblatt has learned from fellowship sources.

The mill would let VW to operate independently of Asian firms similar Panasonic, LG as well as Samsung that cause got dominated the battery marketplace to date.

VW Chief Executive Matthias Müller as well as his squad are currently working on a novel strategy to increase electrical machine sales inward the coming ten years to 1 million. The non-executive supervisory board volition catch the plans earlier the Wolfsburg-based firm’s annual coming together on June 22.

The aim of the novel plans inward business office is too to set the recent “Dieselgate” scandal over cheating emissions tests behind it. The promise is that focusing on battery engineering as well as electrical cars tin assist the beleaguered fellowship brand a fresh starting fourth dimension as well as ameliorate its negative image.

German linguistic communication intelligence way DPA said it was told such a facility could toll upward to ten billion euros ($11.2 billion), amongst Salzgitter inward the German linguistic communication solid set down of Lower Saxony beingness a probable location for the unit.

Building a novel battery mill would too let VW to accept a leadership purpose inward the evolution of the novel technology. The company’s executive board looks probable to approve the plan, which is too supported inward regulation past times the plant council as well as the solid set down of Lower Saxony, its major shareholder, sources said.

VW invested inward solid-state battery startup QuantumScape inward slow 2014 as well as cause got publicly stated they await the engineering tin deliver 700 km range. VW is too targeting a 66 per centum toll reduction past times using a unmarried battery module design for all of its electrified vehicles.

“We desire to launch a major initiative, 1 that volition set us at the pinnacle of the industry,” said 1 insider familiar amongst the plans.

To engagement 1 of the primary reasons established automakers cause got been reluctant to motility into high book EV manufacture is having to outsource battery production. Where the largest toll element inward an internal combustion machine is the engine itself, which virtually all automakers cook in-house, inward an EV it is the battery that is the nearly expensive component. Automakers need to vertically integrate battery production into their manufacturing procedure inward guild to brand EVs profitable.

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