Volkswagen’s battery requirements are set to rise in the coming years as its rollout of electric vehicles continues.
It is understood that the German car manufacturer will require roughly 300 gigawatt-hours worth of battery cells a year by the end of the decade in Europe. This spike will come as the company pushes for 70 per cent of the vehicles it sells in the Old Continent to be electric by 2030.
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Auto News notes that VW currently sources batteries from LG Chem, Samsung SDI, SK Innovation, and CATL and believes demand will exceed 150 GWh from 2025 in Europe and be at a similar level in Asia. VW chief executive Herbert Diess and VW board member in charge of technology Thomas Schmall are expected to announce more details about the brand’s battery and charging infrastructure strategy during a Power Day penciled in for March 15.
Bernstein analyst Arndt Ellinghorst suggests that VW will need 420 GWh of battery cells globally by 2030 if it is to sell 7 million EVs. This will require in excess of €20 billion ($23.8 billion) in annual spending from VW.
There’s a possibility that the growing interest in electric vehicles may also trigger a supply shortage of battery cells in the medium term, UBS analyst Tim Bush added.
“We could very much see a situation similar with semiconductors when you start to have conversations about cell supply disrupting… production plans,” he said.
