EV supply chains: The new great game

Volkswagen’s aggressive battery plans signal new worries for automakers in the EV era

Last week’s Power Day presentation from Volkswagen boldly laid out the automaker’s plans to take immediate control over future battery supplies, and by doing so, its own destiny. First, VW cut ties with several South Korean battery suppliers and instead struck a $14bn deal with Sweden’s Northvolt. Perhaps ‘deal’ is too small a word. VW will increase its own equity stake in the battery maker, buy out the company’s stake in an existing joint-venture production facility in Germany, and devour all future production Northvolt can supply from a new round of major capacity expansion. The speed of VW’s strategic shift signals a looming capacity panic that… will impact the entire battery supply