Volvo inks multi-billion dollar EV battery supply deals with LG Chem, CATL

[SEOUL] Swedish carmaker Volvo said on Wednesday it had signed long-term battery supply deals with two Asian battery makers, South Korea's LG Chem and China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), as it pushes its electrification strategy.

Volvo, owned by China's Geely, is launching electric-vehicle (EV) models under Volvo and its sub-brand Polestar as it takes on global peers including Volkswagen, Tesla and General Motors in the increasingly competitive market for electric vehicles (EVs).

LG Chem's batteries will be used in EVs from both Volvo and the automaker's EV sub-brand Polestar, the South Korean firm said in a statement without disclosing financial terms.

CATL's deal to supply lithium ion batteries will support all of Volvo's models on current and next-generation vehicle platforms, the Ningde-based company said in a statement.

"The future of Volvo Cars is electric and we are firmly committed to moving beyond the internal combustion engine," said Hakan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars.

Volvo said its first battery assembly line was under construction at its manufacturing plant in Ghent, Belgium, and would be finalised by the end of this year.

It was building plug-in hybrid variants of the XC40 in Ghent and planned to make fully electric XC40s there, it added.

The companies said the deals were valued at several billion US dollars but did not disclose detailed financial terms.

REUTERS