Volkswagen will buy 20% of Chinese battery manufacturer Guoxuan High-tech Co
Volkswagen plans to produce in China for more than 1.5 million new electric vehicles per year by 2025, including hybrid vehicles with plug-in. The company is interested in their own unit for the production of batteries to better manage the supply chain.
Company Guoxuan is among Chinese battery manufacturers the average. It is located in the Eastern Chinese city of Hefei, adjacent to the Volkswagen factory, where the largest European automaker is building electric cars together with JAC Motor.
According to two sources Reuters knowledgeable about this, the leading foreign automakers in China plan to acquire a stake in Guoxuan, registered in Shenzhen, through the placement of private shares at a discount. On the basis of market capitalization Guoxuan 2.8 billion, 20% stake in the company currently stands at about 560 million dollars.
"Having a stake in the leading Chinese manufacturers of batteries, manufacturers can gain a larger market power over the price of batteries," said Yale Zhang, managing Director of Shanghai consulting company AutoForesight.
Among the competitors of Volkswagen in China - American Tesla, which earlier this month started deliveries of cars from its factory in China. Factory Elon musk ultimately plans to produce more than 250,000 cars a year.