SKF India has announced plans to invest up to 14.6 billion rupees (about $170.5 million) by 2030 to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities across key facilities in the country, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported June 30, citing an investor presentation by the Indian subsidiary of the Sweden-based company. The company has earmarked capital expenditure ranging from 12.1 billion rupees to 14.6 billion rupees by 2030 to enhance manufacturing capacities at its plants in Haridwar, Uttarakhand; Pun...

FengMei New Energy Automotive Technology, a mainland China-based automotive supplier, has announced plans to invest $15.6 million in establishing a production plant in the Finsa Industrial Park, Aguascalientes, Mexico, according to a report by Mexico Now. The plant is scheduled to start operations at the end of 2025. The investment is predicted to create over 1,000 direct jobs. The upcoming plant will be predominantly focused on the electric vehicle market, producing high-voltage power distri...

Hyundai Mobis has announced plans to build a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) module plant in Ulsan, South Korea, The Korea Herald reported on 9 May. The initiative, which involves an investment of around 90 billion Korean won ($65 million), is set to be completed by late 2025. The new plant will be situated near Hyundai Motor Group's upcoming EV plant in Ulsan and will provide essential modules, such as chassis and driver's seat modules, for next-generation electric vehicles.  The move e...

Schedl Hungária Kft., a German-owned company specializing in wheel assembly and sequential delivery, is investing €101.1 million to open new production facilities in Debrecen, Hungary, and Kecskemét, Hungary. The greenfield investment is expected to create 160 jobs and enable the company to meet growing demand in the electric vehicle segment, particularly from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. With 30 years of experience and 17 million wheels delivered annually, Schedl has established itself as a tr...

Ashok Leyland has invested an additional 5.37 billion rupees (about $64.7 million) in its electric vehicle arm Switch Mobility, with the majority of the funds going toward increasing its shareholding in Optare PLC, UK.  According to a company statement, Ashok Leyland's shareholding in Optare PLC has increased to 92.59% from 92.19% after the latest investment. In early December 2023, the company invested 6625.0 million rupees in Optare PLC, UK, through equity shares in the first tranche, ...

US automaker Ford Motor Company announced on April 11 that the company is investing C$1.8 billion on retooling and upgrading its Oakville Assembly Complex in Canada to prepare the facility for producing electric vehicles (EVs) in the future. Ford said that it aims to make the Ontario-based production plant a high-volume hub of EV manufacturing in Canada. The plant, which will be renamed Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex, is slated to be transformed from the second quarter of 2024 to prep...

Announcing its 2030 goal on April 11, South Korean vehicle manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group plans to become the world’s top three electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers by 2030. The goal entails combined target sales of Hyundai Motor, Kia and Genesis electric models. The 2030 goal announcement was made by Hyundai on the sidelines of the groundbreaking ceremony of Kia’s dedicated plant for purpose-built vehicle (PBV) production in South Korea. To achieve its 2030 goal, Hyundai also discl...

Stellantis announced on March 31 that it plans to produce battery-electric light commercial vehicles (LCVs) at its Mangualde Production Center in Portugal, starting early 2025. The electric vehicles (EVs) scheduled for production at the said site include the Citroën ë-Berlingo, Peugeot e-Partner, Opel Combo-e and Fiat e-Doblò models, both in light commercial and passenger versions, Stellantis said, adding that Mangualde will become the first Portuguese plant to produce large-series fully...

Ford Motor Company announced on March 24 that it plans to produce its second-generation electric truck, code named Project T3, at its upcoming manufacturing site at BlueOval City in Tennessee, US. With construction on track, the planned electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturing facility is scheduled to begin production operations in 2025 and will be capable of rolling out 500,000 EV trucks a year at full production. “With its F-150 Lightning, Ford already has shifted people�...

Mainland China electric vehicle (EV) maker, Neta Auto, ventured into Thailand with a new manufacturing facility that is likely to become a major manufacturing base for Neta Auto to produce and export right-hand-drive (RHD) EVs to ASEAN markets, according to PR Newswire on 12 March. The carmaker also signed a cooperation agreement with Thailand's Bangchan General Assembly Co. (BGAC), under which both sides will jointly build a modern EV-assembly base. Th...

To bolster its presence in North America, the Volkswagen Group announced plans to set up a brand-new battery cell manufacturing unit in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Notably, this is Volkswagen’s first overseas gigafactory for battery cell manufacturing, which will produce sustainable unified cells. The start of production is planned for 2027, according to a company press release dated 13 March. PowerCo is set to become a key player in the development of the battery value stre...

According to a report by Just Auto dated 1 March, Chinese electric vehicle maker (EV) BYD Auto has started work on a new EV battery plant in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. The company is eyeing higher growth globally in the zero-emission vehicle markets. The country’s largest EV manufacturer said it would invest CNY6.5 billion (USD941 million) in the first phase of the plant for an initial production capacity of 20-GWh of batteries, enough to power 200,000 EVs. BYD expects th...

US component major BorgWarner Inc. announces the completion of its acquisition of Hubei Surpass Sun Electric’s (SSE’s) Electric Vehicle Charging Solution, Smart Grid, and Smart Energy businesses. The company made the announcement through a press release on 1 March 2023. The acquisition of SSE is a strategic fit, bolstering BorgWarner’s charging expertise and footprint, capitalizing on the profound industry shift toward electrification. Announcing the acquisition in September 2022, ...

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD Auto Co plans to set up an automotive component manufacturing facility in Vietnam, according to a news report published by the news agency Reuters on 13 January 2023. The news report cited three people aware of the company plans. The report said that BYD’s plan of setting up an auto parts manufacturing plant in Vietnam is part of its larger strategy to diversify from China and deepen its supply chain footprints in the emerging Southeast Asian markets ...

China’s largest battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited.'s (CATL’s) German arm Contemporary Amperex Technology Thuringia GmbH (CATT) has commenced serial production of lithium-ion battery cells in December as scheduled, marking a major milestone in CATL's global expansion strategy, CATL said on 21 December 2022. The battery manufacturing plant in Thuringia, Germany, is CATL’s first production facility outside of China. It can be recalled that the company had rece...

GAC Aion, the new energy vehicle (NEV) brand positioned under the umbrella of the state-owned automobile manufacturer Guangzhou Automobile Corporation (GAC Group) in China, plans to invest USD1.57 billion in building a battery manufacturing plant, a news report published by CnEVPost on 12 December 2022 said. The report cited a company press release. GAC Aion officially broke ground at the site of the battery plant, which will be located in Guangzhou, China— the parent company’s headq...

US automaker Ford Motor Company and its South Korean battery partner SK On have broken ground at BlueOval SK Battery Park in Kentucky, US, and the construction work is on schedule at the two massive battery manufacturing facilities, which are jointly expected to have an annual production capacity of more than 80GWh, once fully operational, the carmaker said on 5 December 2022. The Ford – SK On battery JV company—BlueOval SK—is investing a total of USD 5.8 billion on developing the two s...

Siemens eMobility, a global electric vehicle (EV) technology and infrastructure provider, plans to set up its second US manufacturing plant for EV chargers in Carrollton, Texas, the company announced on 13 December 2022. The company said it will retrofit the 80,000-square-foot brownfield plant in Carrollton as part of its continued investment plan in the US. The planned production unit will allow the company to significantly ramp up its annual manufacturing capacity in the US to cater to the ...

India’s leading sport utility vehicle (SUV) manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) plans to invest INR100 billion (USD1.2 billion) on setting up an electric vehicle (EV) production facility in Pune, India, the company announced on 14 December 2022. The investment plan has also been approved under the Maharashtra Government’s industrial promotion scheme for EVs, M&M said in its official statement Wednesday. The planned investments will be made through M&M’s...

Enovate Motors, the mainland China-based electric vehicle (EV) startup, is planning to set up a new EV manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia, South China Morning Post reported on 13 December. According to the report, the plant will be built under a joint venture (JV) with Sumou. Enovate has reportedly already signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia authorities for the plant. The new plant is expected to have an annual manufacturing capacity of 100,000 units and will cost USD500 million to build. ...

Chinese battery maker SVOLT has signed the lease for the new module and high-voltage battery pack production facility in Saarland, Germany, the company announced in a press release on 9 December. The facility is being built on the site of the former “Laminate Park” in Heusweiler-Eiweiler. The 15-year lease emphasizes SVOLT’s long-term plans in the German state of Saarland and secures a possible right of first refusal as well. The first part of the building (Production 1) is scheduled to...

Leading electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer Envision AESC plans to invest USD810 million in building a new, state-of-the-art gigafactory in Florence, South Carolina, US, according to a news report published by the Automotive World on 6 December 2022. The facility, which is slated to have an annual production capacity of 30GWh, will create 1,170 new jobs in the region in its first phase of operations. The plant will produce high performance batteries to power the next generation EVs fro...

Europe’s largest carmaker Volkswagen plans to make an initial investment of about EUR460 million (USD482 million) to ramp up the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing capacity at its Wolfsburg plant by 2025, the company said on 7 December 2022. The plan was announced by the CEO Thomas Schäfer on Wednesday at an event in Wolfsburg. “The investment is primarily earmarked for preparations to produce the new ID.3,” VW said in a statement Wednesday, adding that the compact elec...

Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor plans to double its electric vehicle (EV) investments in Thailand as the company looks to expand its operations in the country, according to a news report published by Nikkei Asia on 15 November 2022. Great Wall Motor, which entered the Thai market about two years ago, had invested THB12 billion (over USD 344 million) to set up a plant to produce EVs. The said facility employs more than 3,000 people. Citing Narong Sritalayon, managing director of Great Wal...

German luxury carmaker BMW Group plans to prepare its component manufacturing unit in Steyr to produce electric drives in addition to diesel and petrol engines from 2025, the company announced on 2 December 2022. To this end, BMW plans to invest around EUR1 billion (USD1 billion) on its Steyr facility by 2030, it said. “Preparations are already in full swing,” BMW said in an official statement last week. Notably, BMW’s Steyr plant is the Group’s largest engine plant worldwide. The ...

Shanghai-based EV startup Aiways plans to set up a strategic EV assembly plant in Thailand with an investment of EUR40 million (USD42.16 million), the company announced on 2 December 2022. The said plant will be built by Aiways and its Thai partner Phoenix EV and the facility will be located at the Bio Hub Asia, which is an industrial zone situated in the Chachoengsao Province in Thailand. Aiways plans to locally produce the U5 and the U6 SUV models at the upcoming facility. According to the ...

German luxury carmaker BMW Group plans to build a high-voltage battery assembly facility in Debrecen, Hungary, BMW announced on 25 November 2022. The planned battery assembly unit will be located on the site of the Debrecen vehicle plant, which started construction about six months ago, the company said, adding that the new facility is expected to will create more than 500 additional jobs and invest over EUR2 billion (USD2.07 billion) in the construction and launch of the entire plant by the ...

Announcing its midterm management policy on 22 November 2022, Japanese vehicle manufacturer Mazda Motor Corporation disclosed that it plans to invest USD10.6 billion in developing electric vehicles (EVs). The company said it is also considering investing in battery production. Mazda’s midterm policy entails the vehicle manufacturer’s goals and milestones spread until 2030. One of these goals include Mazda raising its EV sales target to achieve up to 40% of its total global sales by 2030. ...

Japanese electric motor manufacturer Nidec Corporation is planning to invest about JPY100 billion (USD715 million) to build a production facility in Mexico, according to a news report published by Nikkei Asia on 18 November 2022. It said that Nidec’s planned facility in Mexico will produce propulsion systems for electric vehicles (EVs). The Kyoto-based company is currently producing e-axles in China and Europe but now plans to begin manufacturing drivetrain components in North America ahead...

VinES Energy Solutions, a Vingroup company, and China-based electric vehicle (EV) battery maker Gotion High-Tech broke ground of their joint venture’s battery manufacturing facility in Vung Ang Economic Zone in Ha Tinh city in Vietnam, VinES said in an official media note on 18 November 2022. The company said that the planned facility will produce rechargeable Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery cells, mainly used for EV batteries and energy storage systems (ESS). The JV is setting up LFP ...

Horizon Plus Company Limited, a joint venture between Thailand’s Arun Plus Company Limited and and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd (Foxconn), had organized groundbreaking ceremony for the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant at the Rojana Nhongyai Industrial Park, Chonburi Province in Thailand, according to a media release issued by Foxconn on 12 November 2022. The planned facility is located on a plot of land area of over 500,000 square meters in the eastern part of Thailand. Hori...

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Government of the State of Bahia in Brazil to set up an EV manufacturing plant, according to a report published by the Brazilian news portal Automotive Business on 28 October 2022. The report stated that BYD plans to install three new assembly lines at a brownfield facility, which was earlier operated by Ford in Camacari. The Chinese automaker plans to invest BRL3 billion (over USD584 million) at the site, wh...

German luxury carmaker BMW Group plans to expand the production capacity of electric vehicle (EV) components at its Leipzig-based manufacturing plant, the company said on the sidelines of the Green Day organized at the BMW Group Plant Leipzig on 20 October 2022. To expand capacity, the carmaker plans to add another eight production lines to manufacture EV components at its Leipzig facility by 2024. Over the next year, the plant’s two existing battery module lines will be complemented by a f...

German luxury carmaker BMW Group plans to invest USD1.7 billion to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in the US, the company announced on 19 October 2022. “BMW Group Chairman of the Board of Management, Oliver Zipse, announced a USD1.7 billion investment in its US operations, including USD1 billion to prepare for the production of EVs at the company’s existing US manufacturing facility in South Carolina, and USD700 million to build a new high-voltage battery assembly facility in nea...

Japanese carmaker Honda Motor Company plans to establish a new electric vehicle (EV) hub in Ohio, US, where it is not only investing in upgrading its existing manufacturing plants to roll out EVs but also setting up an EV battery production unit under its joint venture (JV) with LG Energy Solution (LGES), the company announced on 11 October 2022. Besides investing USD3.5 billion with LGES in setting up 40-GWh battery Gigafactory in Ohio state, Honda plans to invest USD700 million in retooling...

China’s largest battery maker CATL plans to build a battery manufacturing facility in central China's Henan province with an investment of more than CNY10 billion (USD1.9 billion), according to a news report published by CnEVPost on 29 September 2022. CATL’s new battery plant is slated to come up in the Yibin district of Luoyang, Henan province, the report said, citing a regulatory announcement by the company last week. Further quoting the company document, the news report stated ...

MAHLE Powertrain plans to invest USD4 million in setting up a new powertrain testing facility in Plymouth, Michigan, with an intent to help automakers in vehicle development amid the rapid shift to electrified vehicles, the company said on 16 September 2022. The company said that the new powertrain dynamometer facility will be capable of supporting full powertrain development, from the testing and calibration of individual drive components to the complete driveline systems of complex 4WD vehi...

ABB E-mobility plans to expand its EV charging equipment manufacturing operations in the US with a new facility in Columbia, South Carolina, the company announced on 14 September 2022. While the company did not disclose the amount of new investments it plans to make in the new US facility, it said that the multi-million-dollar investment will increase production of EV chargers, including Buy America Act compliant ones, and create over 100 jobs. ABB E-mobility’s new plant is slated to produc...

Škoda Auto plans to launch at least three new all-electric models by 2026, the Czech carmaker announced on 30 August 2022. “Škoda Auto will have three new all-electric models on the market as early as 2026, with more to follow,” the company said on the sidelines of unveiling its new brand identity as part of its NEXT LEVEL – ŠKODA STRATEGY 2030. It further said that the Volkswagen-owned brand is targeting contribution of electric vehicle (EV) sales to more than 70% of its o...

Japan’s largest carmaker Toyota Motor Corporation has lined up an investment of JPY730 billion (about USD5.6 billion) for producing electric vehicle (EV) batteries in Japan and the US, the company said on 31 August 2022. The announcement comes at a time when Toyota is looking to put together its battery supplies to support its midterm EV production plan in its home market as well as in the US. “This investment is aimed at enabling Toyota to flexibly meet the needs of its various customers...

Honda Motor Company plans to invest JPY43 billion (USD310 million) to set up a pilot production line for all-solid-state batteries at its Sakura-based research center in Japan, according to a news report published by the news agency Nikkei Asia on 31 August 2022. The pilot production line is slated to start in spring 2024 and the project aims to assess the technical issues regarding performance and mass production of the next-generation battery technology. The news report further stated ...

Anglo-Korean next-generation battery company Eurocell EMEA, which is headquartered in Birmingham, UK, has chosen Netherlands to build its first Gigafactory in Europe, according to a news report published by The Korea Herald on 18 August 2022. The news report cited a company announcement made on Thursday. It said that the company has been in talks with the Netherlands authorities to select the nation as the preferred site for its first European gigafactory. Eurocell EMEA plans to invest USD800...

China’s largest EV maker BYD has signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the Yichun city government in Jiangxi province in China to set up its battery manufacturing as well as material mining operations in the city, a news report published by CnEVPost on 15 August 2022 said, citing a press release issued by the local government. It stated that BYD plans to invest CNY28.5 billion (USD 4.2 billion) in setting up a 30-GWh battery manufacturing plant and material mining pro...

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker NIO plans to commence operations at its upcoming battery swap station manufacturing plant in Hungary in September 2022, the company announced in a blog post on its website on 29 July 2022. The new plant announcement was made in the presence of Péter Szijjártó, minister of Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Hui Zhang, vice president of NIO Europe Office, among other delegates in Budapest, Hungary. The plant will be managed by NIO’s battery swap bu...

Volkswagen has commenced the production of its all-electric ID.4 compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) in Chattanooga, Tennessee, US, the automaker said on 26 July 2022, adding that the model is VW’s first electric vehicle (EV) assembled in the United States. VW said that the consumers can expect ID.4 EVs to be delivered as early as October 2022. While the EV will be available in either rear-wheel- or all-wheel-drive 82 kWh battery form initially, the carmaker plans to launch a rear-wheel-dri...

South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI plans to invest KRW1.7 trillion (about USD1.3 billion) in building its second battery production facility in Malaysia, the company announced on 21 July 2022. Samsung SDI, which organized a groundbreaking ceremony of its second battery plant on Thursday, said that the plant is slated to begin operations in a phase-wise manner as mass production will begin in 2024 whereas the construction is estimated to be completed by 2025. The battery plant 2 of Samsung...

Estonia-based battery company Skeleton Technologies plans to build Europe’s largest supercapacitor production facility in Leipzig, Germany, with the support of Siemens, according to a news report published by Electrive.com on 19 July 2022. It said that Skeleton Technologies plan to invest EUR220 million (about USD225 million) in setting up the new production plant as well as on the research and development (R&D) work at the site. Citing the company, the news report mentioned that S...

China’s largest EV battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Ltd (CATL) is evaluating two locations in Mexico for setting up its battery production plant for its customers in North America, primarily Tesla and Ford Motor Company, a news report published by China Daily on 19 July 2022 said. CATL is closely evaluating two cities in Mexico namely Ciudad Juarez of Chihuahua and Saltillo of Coahuila for its planned EV battery plant, the report said, citing another Bloomberg re...

British specialty chemicals company Johnson Matthey plans to build a GBP80 million (USD96 million) gigafactory at its existing site in Royston, UK, to scale up the manufacture of hydrogen fuel cell components, the company said on 18 July 2022. The company said that the proposed gigafactory will initially be capable of manufacturing 3GW of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell components annually for hydrogen vehicles. The planned facility will also be supported by the UK Government through...

Volkswagen Group Components plans to expand the production of electric vehicle (EV) components including the portfolio of battery systems, next generation steering systems and brakes, among others at its Braunschweig-based manufacturing plant, the company said on 15 July 2022. The company has also started preparing for the future SSP platform as well, it said on the sidelines of the Site Symposium on Friday last week. While the portfolio and capacity expansion are part of Volkswagen Grou...

Ford Motor Company’s Cologne-based manufacturing plant in Germany is being prepared to produce electric cars in Europe at a time when the assembly lines at the unit are idle on account of factory vacation, the automaker said on 15 July 2022.   The company said that the vehicle assembly lines at the Cologne plant are slated to remain idle until 1 August 2022 on account of factory vacation. However, vacation is being utilized by the company in retooling and expanding capacity to produce ...

NETA Auto has raised several hundred million of CNY as a part of its recently concluded D3 funding round, Pandaily reported on 15 July. The round was led by Dayone Capital. NETA is also funded by internet security company Qihoo 360 and battery company CATL. Significance: NETA Auto is an automobile brand owned by Hozon. The company is growing rapidly, with cumulative delivery volume rising nearly 200% year-on-year (y/y) in the first half of 2022 at 63,131 units. Delivery volume in June alone r...

Belgian chemical company Umicore announced via press release on 13 July that it will be investing USD1.2 billion (CAD1.5 billion) to set up a cathode active material (CAM) and precursor cathode material (pCAM) manufacturing facility in Loyalist, Ontario, Canada. According to the press release, the company is targeting construction of the site to begin in 2023 and operations to begin by the end of 2025. The new facility, funded partly by the Canadian government’s Strategic Innovation Fund, w...

Ford Motor Company and its South Korean battery partner SK Innovation have concluded their agreement of setting up a joint venture (JV), BlueOval SK LLC, for building electric vehicle (EV) battery production plants in the US, a Reuters report published on 14 July 2022 said. The JV company is slated to establish a battery plant for EVs in Tennessee and two other facilities in Kentucky, the report said, citing a regulatory filing by the Ford Motor Company. BlueOval SK is expected to have a prod...

Japanese conglomerate Panasonic Holdings Corporation plans to invest USD4 billion in building its second electric vehicle (EV) battery production plant in the US, its subsidiary Panasonic Energy Company Ltd announced on 14 July 2022. The announcement has come after the US state of Kansas approved an ‘Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion or APEX’ incentive application submitted by Panasonic Energy earlier with an intent of setting up a battery plant, it said in an official statement...

Brussels-based materials technology company Umicore plans to invest in building a large-scale fuel cell catalyst plant in Changshu, China, the company announced on 7 July 2022. The said fuel cell catalyst plant in China is aimed at positioning the company as an early mover in securing opportunities in the fast-emerging fuel cell market in China. According to the company, the said plant will enable the accelerated transformation to hydrogen-based clean mobility, serving demand through to 2030....

Mumbai-based vehicle manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M) could consider investing in a battery manufacturing company to secure appropriate supply of batteries for its future electric vehicle (EV) line up, a Reuters news report published on 10 July 2022 said, citing the company CEO. The comment from the M&M CEO came after the company signed a binding agreement with British International Investment (BII) to invest USD250 million each in a wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to th...

POSCO International has started constructing an electric vehicle (EV) parts manufacturing facility in Mexico, according to a report published by The Korea Herald on 7 July 2022. The report said that the new facility, which is being built on a site located in Ramos Arizpe in the state of Coahuila in northeastern Mexico, While the company plans to inject about KRW160 billion (USD123.2 million) in the venture through 2030 to produce and supply electric motor cores, the report said that the inves...

News agency Reuters reported on 27 June that specialty chemicals manufacturing company Albemarle plans to set up a lithium processing plant in the United States to serve the growing domestic electric vehicle (EV) market. According to the report, the new US plant should produce as much refined lithium as the company currently produces throughout its global operations. The plant will likely be located in the southeast US within rail access of a major port. The company is curre...

MAHLE Powertrain has opened two new R&D facilities in Northampton, UK, further building upon its propulsion engineering capabilities, the company announced on 7 July 2022. It said that the purpose-built facilities allow MAHLE Powertrain to support its customers in the development and research of new vehicles, batteries, and hydrogen technologies. Notably, the new R&D facilities, which would be capable of conducting rigorous tests even under the most extreme simulated environmental con...

Applied safety science company UL Solutions has announced that it opened a new state-of-the-art E-Mobility and Energy Laboratory in Taiwan, according to a press release on 7 July. The new technology center will support in R&D and innovation toward electric bike (eBike) power systems and electric vehicle (EV) charging power and storage battery capacity testing. Jonathan TH Chen, VP and MD, UL Solutions in Taiwan, said, "UL Solutions has maintained a close relationship with Taiwanese manufa...

German automaker Volkswagen (VW) broke ground of the first of its six planned battery cell factories in Salzgitter, Germany on 7 July 2022. It said that the production of EV batteries is slated to start in 2025. VW has named its battery division as ‘PowerCo,’ establishing it as a separate company that would be responsible for all activities along the entire battery value chain. The carmaker said that PowerCo will invest more than EUR20 billion (USD20.36 billion) together with its par...

The Financial Times reported on 6 July that mainland Chinese mining company Tianqi Lithium Corp. had raised roughly USD1.7 billion after listing its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to the report, the company sold 164 million shares at USD10.45 (HKD82) per share during the IPO that was sponsored by Morgan Stanley, China International Capital, and CMB International Capital. Primary buyers of the shares included South Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem and mainland Chinese ...

Germany-based automotive engineering services company FEV has announced that it opened a new Smart Mobility Center in Pune, India to advance intelligent and electric vehicle (EV) mobility, according to a press release published by the company on 7 July. Vijay Sharma, Managing Director, FEV India, said, “Establishing our new offices for vehicle development and intelligent mobility solutions is a big step towards further growth, as well as strengthening our existing partnerships. With our ski...

German luxury automaker BMW Group plans to design, develop and manufacture the next generation electric drives at its Steyr-based plant in Austria from 2025, the company announced on 20 June 2022. BMW said that it plans to invest around EUR1 billion (USD1.03 billion) in building its competence in this area through the decade. The automaker aims to make its Steyr-based plant in Upper Austria the leading drivetrain facility within its global production network, besides significantly increasing ...

Norwegian battery maker FREYR Battery announced on 29 June 2022 that the company’s Board of Directors has approved the expansion of the planned Giga Arctic project under development in Mo i Rana, Norway, to an annual capacity of 29 GWh. Additionally, the board also approved the construction of Giga Arctic, it said, adding that the approval follows substantial completion of detailed plant engineering, establishment of procurement frameworks with key raw material and capital equipment supplie...

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has laid out a detailed plan to align its global production network to manufacture its all-new product portfolio focused on luxury electric vehicles (EVs), the company said in an announcement on 29 June 2022. It is known that Mercedes-Benz plans to go all electric by the end of the decade, wherever market conditions allow, by focusing on three vehicle categories—top-end luxury, core luxury, and entry luxury, as outlined in the company’s Economics of De...

South African mining company Sibanye-Stillwater announced via a press release on 30 June that it had increased its equity shareholding in Finnish mining and battery chemical company Keliber Oy to a 50%-plus-1 share. Keliber owns an advanced lithium hydroxide project located in the Kaustinen region of Finland. According to the press release, the mining company will simultaneously be making a voluntary cash offer to minority shareholders of Keliber to increase its own shareholding in the com...

Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars plans to invest EUR1.20 billion (USD1.25 billion) in setting up an all-new electric vehicle (EV) plant in Slovakia, the company announced on 1 July 2022. The proposed EV production facility in Slovakia, which will be Volvo Cars’ third manufacturing plant in Europe, will be located close to Kosice, in the eastern part of Slovakia. According to the company, the chosen location for the upcoming plant will benefit the production facility from a well-established aut...

Audi FAW NEV Company has laid the foundation stone for its all-new factory, which will roll out all-electric Audi cars, in Changchun, China, the company announced on 29 June 2022. The upcoming factory is slated to produce EV models based on Audi’s PPE (Premium Platform Electric) technology platform for the Chinese market, it said. While the construction of the proposed EV factory has already begun, the facility is expected to be ready by end of 2024 and will become the first automotive plan...

Basquevolt has announced the completion of its first seed funding round of EUR10 million (USD10.6 million) led by a group of investors from government, energy and automotive industries, it said in a press release on 28 June. The seed investment was led by the Basque Government with participation from Iberdrola, CIE Automotive, Enagás, EIT InnoEnergy, and CIC energiGUNE. “Our society is now engaging actively the phase out of fossil fuels in order to ensure that we collectively achieve a sus...

French battery maker Forsee Power plans to set up its North American headquarters and a gigafactory in Hilliard, Ohio, US, the company announced on 27 June 2022 on the sidelines of the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington DC. Foresee Power said that the company would invest EUR13 million (USD13.72 million) in setting and scaling up its gigafactory in the US over the next four years. The battery plant, which is slated to achieve a production capacity of 3 GWh in the US by 2026, is expecte...

Volkswagen Group and Siemens have made a joint equity investment of USD450 million to support the growth of Electrify America, one of the largest public fast charging networks for electric vehicles in North America, VW said in a statement on 28 June 2022. Siemens, which has invested with a low triple-digit million USD through its financing arm Siemens Financial Services (SFS), becomes a minority shareholder in Electrify America and gets a seat on the company’s board, the company said. It ad...

Hyundai Motor America and Hyundai America Technical Center (HATCI) has announced the construction of a new USD51.6 million Safety Test and Investigation Laboratory (STIL) in Michigan, US, the Korean automaker said in a press release on 27 June.    José Muñoz, president and COO, Hyundai Motor Company and president and CEO, Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America and Hyundai Motor America, said, "Safety is the top priority at Hyundai and is embedded throughout the entire organizatio...

Italian–American automaker Stellantis has invested EUR33 million (USD34.9 million) in setting up two global testing facilities to support the development of electric and autonomous vehicles, the company said on 20 June 2022. The company said that the investments are part of its global long-term strategy to achieve best-in-class electric vehicle (EV) performance and highest level of self-driving technology while ensuring safety and reliability for customers. According to the company,...

CnEVPost reported on 24 June that Chinese lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery manufacturer Guoxuan (Gotion) High-Tech and Argentinian state-owned mining company Jujuy Energía y Minería Sociedad del Estado (JEMSE) had signed an agreement to set up a lithium carbonate refining plant in Jujuy province, Argentina According to the report, the plant is expected to be installed with a 10,000 ton per annum (TPA) lithium carbonate production line initially. The company will add capacity by 50,000 TPA durin...

Statiq has raised USD25.7 million in its Series A round, led by Shell Ventures, VCCircle reported on 23 June. The electric vehicle (EV) charging network startup intends to use the funding to primarily invest in product engineering and network infrastructure. The investment will also help accelerate scaling and realize value from contract portfolio.   “Securing the first closing of our Series A ensures delivering on value-enhancing growth options already secured by Statiq, as we set out...

Australian energy company Vulcan Energy Resources announced via press release on 24 June that it had agreed to a USD53 million (AUD76 million/EUR50 million) investment from Italian-American automaker Stellantis. According to the press release, the new investment will make Stellantis Vulcan’s second largest shareholder with 8% shareholding. Vulcan stated that it will use the proceeds of the investment to expand its Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field (URVBF) project in Germany that produces ge...

German luxury carmaker BMW has set up a new electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant in Shenyang, China, as part of its capacity expansion drive to accelerate the production of EVs in the world’s largest EV market, the company announced on 23 June 2022. According to BMW, with an overall investment of CNY15 billion (USD2.2 billion), its plant Lydia represents the single biggest investment project in its history in China. The carmaker said that the new facility, which is located in the Tiexi...

Volkswagen Group announced on 16 June 2022 that the company’s components arm plans to invest EUR2.30 billion (USD2.42 billion) through 2026 in preparing its manufacturing plants in Germany for electrification. “It’s the next step in a transformation process initiated in 2015 that is converting the company into an e-mobility system supplier,” the company said in its official note. The announcement comes soon after the automaker started the production of its ID.Buzz model. As part of...

ABB E-mobility has opened its largest DC fast charger production plant to date in Valdarno, in the Tuscany region in Italy, the company said on 21 June 2022. Named the ABB E-mobility Centre of Excellence, the expanded facility has more than doubled its production capacity over the last two years. The expanded facility covers an area of 16,000 meter squares. The company has spent USD30 million in building the new manufacturing unit, which brings an additional production c...

US carmaker Ford Motor has selected its plant located in Valencia, Spain as the suitable facility to assemble vehicles based on its next generation electric vehicle (EV) architecture for Europe, the company announced on 22 June 2022. “Pending product approval, the Valencia plant could produce breakthrough electric and connected vehicles beginning later this decade,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. Furthermore, the maker of Mustang Mach-E cars said that it is moving forward w...

German chemical company BASF announced via press release on 20 June that it will be building a commercial scale battery recycling black mass plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, to strengthen its cathode active materials (CAM) production and recycling operations in the region. According to the press release, the new site will process end-of-life lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries into black mass containing high amounts of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese from 2024. The black mass is expected to ...

Reuters reported on 17 June that Chinese mining company Sinomine Resource Group had launched a USD200 million investment to build a new plant and expand mining operations at the Bikita lithium mine it acquired recently. The company acquired the mine for USD180 million in January from Mauritius’ African Metals Management Services and Southern African Metals and Minerals. The mine produces petalite, a lithium mineral that the Chinese company wishes to process into spodumene. Spodumene can be ...

Stellantis has invested a total of USD34.6 million in two of its global testing facilities to support the company’s long-term strategy for building high-performing electric vehicles (EVs) and achieving the highest level of autonomous driving technology, according to a press release on 20 June 2022. The EUR5 million in improvements to the Orbassano Safety Center allow it to test all sorts of electrified cars, including mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery-electric vehicles. The faci...

German chemical company BASF announced via press release on 15 June that its majority-owned subsidiary in China BASF Shanshan Battery Materials Co., Ltd. (BSBM) will be expanding its cathode active material (CAM) manufacturing capacity in the country to 100,000 tons per year (TPY). According to the press release, the expansion, driven by increasing demands from the electric vehicle (EV) industry, will require installation of new production lines at the existing sites in Changsha, Hunan Provin...

Basquevolt, a Spanish battery technology company founded by the Basque Government, Iberdrola, CIE Automotive, Enagás, EIT InnoEnergy, and CIC energiGUNE, plans to begin production of solid-state battery cells in 2027 with the aim of producing up to 10 GWh of batteries, EIT InnoEnergy announced on 10 June 2022. The official note said that the announcement has come after two years of intense and highly confidential work put together by the key stakeholders in developing solid-state battery cel...

BYD’s battery arm FinDreams Battery has started production operations at its new plant in Shaoxing, which is located in East China's Zhejiang province, a news report published by CNEVPOST on 15 June 2022 said, citing a press release issued by the local government. The report said that FinDreams Battery opened its first production lines at the Shaoxing plant, which is located in the Shengzhou Economic Development Zone. The plant, according to the report, is built with a total investment of C...

XENDEE has raised USD12 million in Series A financing, it said in a press release on 15 June. The round was led by Anzu Partners, with additional financing from TravelCenters of America Inc, Evergy Ventures, and Surlamer Investments. The funding will help increase company’s Net-Zero DER and ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) charging platform deployments. “We are pleased to announce new financing from these strategic investors and partners that will help increase XENDEE’s market presence ...

Li Auto, a Chinese automaker has begun the second phase of construction of an industrial park in Beijing's Shunyi Science Park, according to a report published by Pandaily on 15 June 2022. The project is anticipated to be finished by the end of 2023, with a total investment of CNY1.3 billion (USD193.4 million) and a total size of 58,600 square meters. Phase II of the project, according to the company, will focus on energy conservation, environmental preservation, modernization, science and te...

US carmaker General Motors plans to invest more than USD81 million at its Michigan-based Global Technical Center to prepare the facility to build Cadillac’s flagship luxury electric vehicle (EV) CELESTIQ, the company said on 15 June 2022. GM said that the investment will be used to purchase and install necessary equipment to hand-build the CELESTIQ EV as part of the facility upgrade program. Meanwhile, campus renovation has already begun, it added. The Cadillac’s luxury EV CELESTIQ w...

US specialty chemicals manufacturing company Albemarle announced via press release on 13 June that it had inaugurated its third lithium chemical conversion plant, La Negra III/IV, in Antofagasta, Chile. According to the press release, the new USD500 million plant includes a USD100 million thermal evaporator that can recycle water and help the company reduce its low-freshwater consumption by 30%. The plant, located 27 km from the city of Antofagasta, will convert 6% lithium chloride pr...

Australian rare-earths mining company Lynas Rare Earths announced via press release on 14 June that its wholly owned subsidiary Lynas USA LLC had signed a US120 million contract with the US Department of Defense (DoD) to set up a commercial Heavy Rare Earths (HRE) separation facility in the United States. According to the press release, the new HRE facility will complement the company’s planned Light Rare Earth separation facility in the country and be built within the same industrial ...

French industrial company Viridium Lithium announced via press release on 7 June that it will be building a battery grade lithium hydroxide production plant in Alsace, France with a planned initial capacity of 25,000 tons per year. According to the press release, the company has selected the industrial site of Lauterbourg in Alsace within the French Grand Est Region to build the new plant. The 20-ha footprint of the site will allow the company to expand capacity at the site by 2030 to 100,000...

Belgian chemical company Solvay announced via press release on 13 June that it had doubled the production capacity of its high-performance polymer Solef® polyvinylidene fluoride at its Changshu site ahead of schedule. According to the press release, the investment to increase capacity was driven by an increase in demand from the EV battery industry that uses the material as both a binder as well as a separator coating in lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. According to Solvay, application of its...

China’s largest battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) has commenced production operations at its first EV battery plant situated in Zhaoqing production base, which is located in Zhaoqing High-tech Zone, south China’s Guangdong Province, the company said on 30 May 2022. The company had organized a production commencement ceremony on the day at the plant, which is called Guangdong Ruiqing Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CARQ), it said. CATL plans to invest CN...

Italian–American automaker Stellantis plans to build electric vehicles on its STLA Large platform at its Windsor, Ontario based manufacturing unit in Canada, the company announced on 3 June 2022. The company said it also plans to discontinue the production of the current L-series vehicles, which include Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger, at its Brampton-based manufacturing plant before beginning the retooling work in 2024, as announced on 2 May 2022. “A product announcement...