Report: Magna planning EV battery plant for BMW, Ford, PSA

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)