50GWh! Volkswagen Turns On Battery Supply

Volkswagen Group and Mahindra Group have signed an agreement for the supply of Volkswagen MEB components for Mahindra's dedicated electric platform INGLO.

According to the agreement, the cooperation between the two parties covers the supply of certain electronic components as well as individual batteries. Mahindra will use some platform components from the Volkswagen Group as well as standardised cells, which are expected to total 50GWh.

Since 2017, the Volkswagen Group has begun to lay out the field of power batteries to build a stable and controllable battery supply chain.

In 2021, Volkswagen Group increased its shareholding in Guoxuan Gaoxuan, and after the completion of the increase, its shareholding in Guoxuan Gaoxuan Gaoxuan increased to 26.47%, becoming the largest shareholder of the company.

In 2022, Volkswagen Group and its Seat brand announced that it will invest more than 7 billion euros in the layout of the electric vehicle industry chain in Spain, the focus of which will be the super battery factory located in Valencia.

In the same year, the Volkswagen Group also announced that it will expand its battery research and development capabilities in the United States by opening a new battery engineering laboratory in Chattanooga.

According to the plan released by Volkswagen on its Battery Day, the Volkswagen Group will establish new partnerships and cover all areas from raw materials to recycling, while planning to invest in six battery plants in Europe, with a total capacity of 240GWh.

However, due to the disappearance of subsidies and the lack of charging infrastructure, the Volkswagen Group's ambitions have had to be temporarily slowed.

At the end of last year, based on the judgment that demand for electric vehicles was "lower than expected", Volkswagen announced that it would suspend the site selection of a fourth electric vehicle battery factory.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Volkswagen would delay plans to seek outside investors for its battery unit PowerCo due to a cooling electric car market and a dimmer business outlook.

Volkswagen has made the same choice as Ford, Renault and other car companies.

Just last year, Ford canceled a joint battery project with LG in Turkey, and suspended construction of a second battery plant in Kentucky with South Korean manufacturer SK On, cutting some production of Ford Mustang Mach-E.

Renault has also cancelled the planned listing of Ampere, its electric vehicle and software division, due to a lack of interest in the listing and a slowdown in the adoption of superimposed electric vehicles.

The Swiss investment bank expects electric vehicle sales growth in Europe and the United States to slow to 10 to 15 percent by 2024.