Leading car supplier Bosch decides against battery cell production

Europe’s largest car supplier Bosch has decided not to enter the production of battery cells for e-cars, ending months of speculation. “Is Bosch going to start manufacturing its own battery cells? The answer is ‘no.’ Bosch will continue to buy in the cells needed to make batteries,” said Bosch Management Board member Rolf Bulander in a statement. “We are convinced that battery cells will be a standardised commodity in the long run. We have to understand cells technically, we don’t have to make them ourselves.” Bulander said his company will be an electromobility leader even without cell manufacturing operations of its own. “Cell production is not decisive for our success.”
Bosch’s decision is a setback for the European Union and the German government, as both had pushed for a European consortium to break the dominance of Asian suppliers. Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that the decision was also a “major blow” for the German car industry. “The dependence on Asians can no longer be challenged. [This decision] weakens the negotiating position of German carmakers.”

Read the statement in English here.

Read a Reuters story on the decision in English here.