Nissan to cut battery production amid electric sales slump
According to the people that have knowledge of the proceeds, the strategy has been met with resistance within the Japanese maker’s ranks, also showing a growing rapture of strategy between Nissan and alliance partner Renault.
"We set out to be a leader in battery manufacturing but it turned out to be less competitive than we’d wanted," commented one executive, who chose to remain anonymous. “We’re still between six months and a year behind LG in price-performance terms."
The plan calls for the US and British battery manufacturing to be gradually phased out, with Nissan concentrating the remaining (reduced) output of next-generation batteries at the Japanese plant.
Renault-Nissan “remains 100-percent committed to its industry-leading electric vehicle program," commented spokeswoman Rachel Konrad. "We have not taken any decision whatsoever to modify battery sourcing allocation," she added.
The reduction plan tipped by the sources further develops the swing around by also tapping South Korea’s LG Chem as a supplier for cheaper batteries – whereas today the alliance makes all of its batteries in-house. Via Reuters