13 November 2018

Shift to battery power will cost VW 14,000 jobs

Audi e-tron, all electric from Volkswagen Group.
Volkswagen has completed its list of approved battery supply partners for its upcoming electric car range, as it plans up to 50 million electric vehicles on its MEB platform, writes Brian Byrne.

Naming South Korean battery maker SKI Innovation as the supplier for its North American electric car range and for some of its European production alongside LG Chem and Samsung, the German carmaker has put in place supply for the 150 GWh capacity per year it needs through to 2025. Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) was previously nominated as the strategic partner for China.

The announcement also puts the company closer to having to trim its workforce by an estimated 14,000 in Germany as production of internal combustion engines are phased out. Other carmakers face similar issues, as electric cars take less overall time to produce, and jobs in their engines manufacture go outside to battery makers.