BMW agrees to $4.7 billion contract with China's CATL for battery cells
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
BMW plans to source 4 billion euros' ($4.7 billion) worth of battery cells from Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd ( CATL ) over the next few years, the carmaker's purchasing boss said on Monday.
A contract for the construction of the new plant is due to be signed on Monday during a visit to Germany by China's Premier Li Keqiang.
There have been warnings that Europe's lack of its own production capabilities for the cells that power electric cars could leave its car industry exposed and too reliant on others.
Tesla founder Elon Musk has spoken about locating a battery ' Gigafactory ' near the Franco-German border, in the vicinity of its Grohmann Engineering division.
Duesmann said BMW had invested in some of the costs for the CATL factory in Erfurt, but declined to say how much.
He said BMW was investing in cell research but a decision on whether to produce battery cells itself had not been made.
BMW is "very comfortable" with two suppliers of battery cells at the moment, but could add a third and is in talks with eight manufacturers, he added.
He said he would welcome it if other carmakers also wanted to invest in the Erfurt plant.
However, BMW has no plans to jointly purchase cells with rival Daimler, he said, because of the competitive advantage that can be gained if batteries give greater range or can be charged faster.
Daimler said its strategy was to buy components where they are produced. "We welcome the decision of CATL to manufacture in Germany and are in talks regarding this," a spokesman said.
BMW is sourcing raw materials for the cells itself to pass to the battery makers, in particular cobalt, and is currently negotiating long-term contracts.
Duesmann said BMW would only conclude contracts where inhuman conditions and child labor were ruled out. It said it was not sourcing cobalt from mines in Congo.
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China and Germany playing the long game........
... and then this on Reuters :
Yup, the ''long game'' and you'll see China reach more and more into eastern European countries as witnessed in the summit last week of eastern European countries with China as a invited party.
I wonder if this means without going into a joint venture with a Chinese company?
Currently the EU is a larger trading partner than the US is with China.
With the current situation (trade war) it could become much larger.
Especially with those rail roads you mentioned in another article.
Yup.
We're kinda sorta seeing a pattern, hmmm?
Yes.
Europe soon to be part of Pan China.
The investment by the Chinese and in some cases by the Japanese in the rail through Kazakhstan is expanding at a very rapid pace. COCSO (China Ocean Shipping Co) has purchased an interest in the new ''dry port'' in Kazakhstan.
Additionally COSCO just purchased OOCL making COSCO the third largest shipping line in the world.
.... along with the rest of the world...
What I'm having trouble deciding is... whether or not that's a good thing.
... but on the other hand, there's all that other news about America's international successes...
But we needn't worry... Our President is playing three-dimensional chess!
Probably unnoticed has been the investment by China in Europe. Since 2014 they have increased their purchases of property and have been buying more and more of the sovereignty bonds (similar to US Treasury notes)...
Last year China surpassed the US as Germany's largest trading partner...
The country with the largest added value in an iPhone is... Germany...
Interesting.