Report: VW to Invest in China Supply Base

Volkswagen AG is looking at ways to strengthen its supply base in China through joint ventures or equity stakes, sources tell Bloomberg News.

The sources say VW is especially interested in locking in vendors with technologies related to electrified vehicles, including battery makers. VW has said it expects to sell a combined 22 million all-electric vehicles worldwide between now and 2028, half of them in China.

Battery producer Guoxuan High-Tech Co. is one of the companies VW is studying, according to Bloomberg. The news service says BYD, CATL and Guoxuan supply four in five batteries used in China’s so-called new-energy vehicles.

But Bloomberg notes that the Chinese market is opening up to foreign producers, such as LG Chem, as China’s central government drops incentives that encouraged China’s EV industry to use local batteries suppliers.

VW expects to sell a combined 22 million all-electric vehicles worldwide between now and 2028, half of them in China.