Chinese battery manufacturer Svolt has announced a €2 billion investment to build a battery plant in Germany. One of its first customers in the old continent will be the French group PSA (Peugeot-Citroën, Opel), which will use the Chinese supplier’s cells in its next low-cost electric car: the Citroën ë-C3.
With this move, Svolt will join the growing group of Asian battery manufacturers based in Europe: LG Chem, SK Innovation, Samsung SDI, Panasonic, CATL … these are just some of the companies of this type with operating factories in Europe or with plans to build them, compared to the still timid European proposals (Northvolt, Saft …).
The head of Svolt, Yang Hongxin, affirms that with this decision the company will enter the European automotive industry, which in the coming years will be electrified very quickly due to the new and strict emission limits established by the Union European authorities between now and 2030.
The new German factory will have a maximum capacity of 24 GWh per year, which will allow it to supply batteries to between 300,000 and 500,000 electric vehicles. Although this factory will start operating in 2023, by 2022, Svolt will have facilities to produce modules and complete packs in operation.