Sustainable supply chain

China is a key supplier of battery cells. But working conditions and health protection in the country are regarded as critical. Can Volkswagen liberate itself from the Chinese market?

As part of its electrification strategy, the Volkswagen Group will have an annual demand for more than 150 gigawatt hours in Europe after 2025 – roughly the same amount will be needed in Asia.

For Europe, Volkswagen has joined forces with LG Chem, Samsung and SKI to start supplying battery cells in 2019. Starting in 2022, SKI will also supply the North American market. Our strategic partner in China is CATL. This company meets our supply chain sustainability standards and will start delivering batteries next year for an annual production volume of up to 600,000 electric vehicles.

We are making battery technology a key area of expertise at Volkswagen with our Center of Excellence in Salzgitter. We have strategically selected battery cell suppliers and are investing in a joint venture with Northvolt AB, a battery manufacturer based in Sweden. We are working together to build a 16 gigawatt-hour battery cell factory in Salzgitter in 2020. Battery cell production for Volkswagen Group brands is scheduled to start in 2023/24.