(Adds further detail)
By Victoria Waldersee
WOLFSBURG, March 13 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's battery needs are covered until 2028 by its three confirmed
factories in Europe - the Salzgitter plant in Germany,
Northvolt's plant in Sweden and a planned plant in Valencia,
board member Thomas Schmall said on Monday.
The carmaker is still targeting 240 gigawatt hours of
battery cell production capacity in Europe but could do this
with fewer than the originally planned six plants, Schmall said.
"We stick to the 240 gigawatt hours. Whether we need five or
six plants depends on the incentive strategy of the countries...
this is not decided yet," he added.
The executive said he expects demand for between 60 and 100
gigawatt hours of capacity in North America, but did not give
details on how much of this capacity will be provided by
Volkswagen-owned plants.
It was a misunderstanding that announcements of new plants
in North America meant that the carmaker would do less in
Europe, Schmall said, adding it was simply waiting to see what
Europe had to offer as a response to the U.S. Inflation
Reduction Act (IRA).
The Valencia plant, confirmed last year, is due to begin
production in 2026. Volkswagen does not need to start
construction of a new plant in Europe until 2025, Schmall said,
adding a decision on the next location could be made sooner if a
similar tailwind to the IRA materialised in Europe.
The carmaker was standardising the structure of its
factories and batteries, but the chemistry of the battery would
differ for different models, Schmall said: Batteries for
entry-level models will use iron phosphate, while medium-level
models will have high manganese content and top models increased
silicon content.
With its PowerCo battery unit, Volkswagen wanted to become a
significant player but not the only player in the battery space,
Schmall added, highlighting that 95% of the battery market is
dominated by Asian players.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee
Editing by Miranda Murray, Kirsten Donovan)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.