Volkswagen can yield to Chinese factory control of Iberian batteries

The Volkswagen Group and chinese Gotion will be negotiating the entrance to the electric vehicle battery cell factory in the outskirts of ValenciaIn Spain. It is operated by PowerCo, whose company the German manufacturer is a 100 percent shareholder.

According to La Tribuna de Automoción, on the table is the control of the manufacturing unit in the framework of a joint venture. The process has been going on for months, with Chinese officials having already visited the premises – including Gotion's executive director, Zhen Li.

There will be “a good understanding” between the two parties technical meetings will also be held. The scenario under study will be the creation of a joint venture, with gotion staying in majority control from the spanish battery factory.

PowerCo, founded in 2022 by the Volkswagen Group, would have a minority stake. He is currently in charge of operations, and is expected to start production at the end of the year – Reuters advances. In addition to Valencia, it has a factory in Salzgitter (Germany) and another in St. Thomas (Canada), with the aim of reaching 200 GWh of annual production.

Gotion is one of the world's battery manufacturers. Already Provides Battery Cells to Volkswagen come from China, for the electrics of the various brands of the group. It describes the La Tribuna de Automoción that sends materials to the PowerCo plant in Germany, which last December began producing nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries. Then they go to Spain, where the assembly process of battery assemblies is completed.

It should be noted that the Valencia plant is essential in the German manufacturer’s electric strategy, it is expected to supply its factories in Portugal (Autoeuropa in Palmela) and Spain. The creation of PowerCo aimed to reduce dependency on Asian suppliers.