Magna Milan EV Concept

Battery manufacturer Magna is talking with Japan”s GS Yuasa Corp. about producing lithium ion batteries to supply PSA/Peugeot-Citroen SA, and possibly BMW and Ford. The two companies are considering a $466 million factory in Spain or Austria, likely to start producing batteries in 2012, at a high enough capacity to power 50,000 cars per year.

GS Yuasa already supplies lithium-ion batteries for Mitsubishi for use in the i-MiEV, the world’s first electric car from a major automaker.

Magna would most likely hold a minority stake of between 20 and 40 percent of the venture, with GS Yuasa holding the rest. Analysts say that venturing outside of the company”s partnership with Mitsubishi is a positive step, and will allow GS Yuasa to broaden its customer base. The company said last year that it aims to boost its annual sales of lithium-ion batteries more than 30-fold, to 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) by March of 2016.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)