The partnership between Chinese battery giant Ningde times and multinational carmaker Atlantis continues to draw attention from international opinion and industry. A new lithium iron phosphate battery factory will be built in the Spanish Aragon City of Zaragoza, the two sides announced Monday, with an estimated investment of 4.1 billion euros. Deutsche Welle commented that the Spanish joint venture would be Ningde’s third major European Investment. It follows the establishment of two European factories by Ningde time, one in Germany and the other in Hungary. Ningde times wants to further expand its presence in the European market. Azkoun, the Aragon Conservative leader, was quoted by the Financial Times as saying the project was “The best news” and would “Lay the foundation for the future of strategic industries in the region”.
“A gospel.”
The plant, located in Zaragoza in northern Spain, is expected to start 2026 by the end of the year and is expected to have a capacity of 50gwh, Reuters reported. The deal is expected to close in 2025. John Johan Elkan, chairman of the company, said the joint venture with Ningde Times would help promote a full and sustainable production cycle. In addition to the newly announced plant construction plans, Ningde times currently has one plant in Germany and is building another in Hungary. The Spanish project in Zaragoza, while a boon to the European supply chain, may not be possible without technical support from a Chinese partner, Bloomberg reported.
Ningde times, a Chinese battery maker, announced on Thursday that it was building a third European production base. The site of a Ningde-era Hungarian factory in May.
The latest development comes against the backdrop of the difficulties faced by European automakers in moving toward full-scale electrification, CNBC reported, these include the slower-than-expected roll-out of charging posts and the possibility of targeted us tariffs. “European battery industry ambitions hit a wall,” the Bloomberg L.P. said on Thursday, citing the most high-profile setback to date when Swedish start-up Pak Fu filed for bankruptcy protection in the US last month.
In addition, British battery start-up Britishvolt filed for bankruptcy early in the 2023. ACC, a joint venture between Mercedes-benz and Atlantis, is slamming on the brakes, with construction plans at its Italian and German Ultimate Factories stalled by lacklustre demand for electric cars. But at the same time, 10 of 13 European projects by Asian manufacturers such as Ningde Times, a Chinese company, and Samsung SDI, a South Korean battery maker, are on track, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
“Companies that are really good at this have been around for a long time.”
Andy Palmer, the former Chief Executive of Aston Martin Global Ragunda Holdings, said the development of the European car industry was being threatened by the continent’s failure to develop a full battery manufacturing capacity. Without a robust supply chain for electric vehicles, carmakers could shift production to regions with established battery industries, leading to local plant closures and job losses.
Part of the reason for the missed opportunities in the European auto industry, Bloomberg said, is that its automakers have been slow to shift to battery technology. When BYD launched its first electric car in 2008, traditional carmakers such as Volkswagen and BMW were still betting on petrol and diesel engines. While Europe is dragging its feet, China is accelerating the development of its own electric-car industry. By 2021, when European carmakers are fully committed to electric cars, Ningde times will be the world’s largest battery maker and BYD is the main force in electric car and battery development. Corrin McKeracher, an analyst at Bloomberg, said it was difficult to make power cells — they had high capital requirements, brutal pricing, low margins, a demanding manufacturing environment and demanding customers, “Companies that are really good at this have been around for a long time.”.
The report goes on to say that most carmakers are now seeking support from Asian partners as they struggle to produce their own batteries or lose confidence in European suppliers. Even some carmakers are prepared to abandon electrification targets and lobby the EU to abandon plans to phase out combustion-engine cars by 2035. Such strategic dithering could leave the region’s carmakers further behind Asian rivals in gaining access to cost-effective electric vehicle technology.
The possibility of cooperation between beifu and Chinese enterprises increases?
Earlier this month, the European Union announced a $1 billion funding plan to support its electric vehicle battery industry. Reports say it is part of a broader strategy to reduce reliance on Chinese battery components and boost the EU’s electric car industry. According to reports, the funds are tied to strict procurement requirements. Deutsche Welle commented on the 10th that while Europe has been trying to reduce its reliance on Chinese batteries through technology investment, such efforts have been frustrated, such as Beifu’s recent bankruptcy filing in the US.
Against this background, many analysts argue that European companies must work with Chinese companies to produce quickly. “Why is Europe dependent on China for battery production?” The German newspaper Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung reported that when European battery projects such as North Volt were on the verge of bankruptcy, ningde times, the Chinese global market leader, is becoming increasingly popular in Europe, where the possibility of some European battery makers working with Chinese companies is still rising. According to people in the negotiating circle, Beifu is trying to explore an“Industrial partnership” to solve technical problems, which may result in seeking help from China.
“Compared with China, Japan and South Korea, the power battery industry chain in Europe still has a certain gap, and needs external superior resources to support it,” auto industry analyst Xu Guangjian told the Global Times on the 11th, but at the same time, we should see, including South Korea’s LG, Samsung and other leading companies have also been deployed in Europe, Panasonic Power batteries are also exported to Europe. The china-eu Business Cooperation, or based on the supply and demand side to find a point of convergence. If we do a good job this time, we can play a good role as a model for the follow-up Chinese auto companies to invest in Europe and serve the local industrial chain will have a positive role in promoting.
Zhong Shi, an auto industry analyst, said in an interview with the Global Times on the 11th that the cooperation between China’s leading Power Battery Company and Europe’s leading car company is a win-win model for both sides, the nature of the partnership is different from the way Chinese carmakers export electric cars to the EU market. China’s leading power battery companies already have highly competitive technical capabilities to ensure that the complementary cooperation with European car companies more durable and stable. After a good start, it will be conducive to further cooperation between China’s automotive intelligent technology and European car companies. In technology cooperation, Chinese and European companies will also achieve a clear division of labor in the future.