Europe could face overcapacity of e-car battery production
Handelsblatt
Europe faces an overcapacity of e-car battery production as the continent supports the build-up of a domestic supply and a large number of factories are currently being constructed, . BMW bosses have decided against moving into battery production due to fears the market is already too crowded, Handelsblatt . 鈥淣ow is the wrong time to invest in gigafactories,鈥� board member Frank Weber told the newspaper, explaining that the company has already discussed and rejected a multi-billion-euro investment in the market several times. Plans for a large number of new battery factories around Europe have been announced in the past two years, with some such as Tesla鈥檚 Berlin Gigafactory receiving billions in state aid in a bid to stop the market dominance of Asian companies. BMW group CEO Oliver described the market as 鈥渧ery robust,鈥� and the newspaper reports that the company will continue to purchase battery cells from Chinese manufacturer CATL, which has built a specialised factory in Thuringia.
Europe is becoming the second largest electric car market after China, with a demand of 900 gigawatt hours expected on the continent by 2030. However, the article authors say that the current factory boom risks becoming a bubble, as battery factories are only economically successful if they run at 90 percent capacity.
