The joint venture will begin producing battery systems in 2010 for Wanxiang’s existing backlog of customers in China in the passenger and heavy-duty market segments, with the intention to expand to new customers and new geographies. The new venture will be governed by executives appointed by Ener1 and Wanxiang.
Wanxiang will continue to fund the expansion of its existing manufacturing facility in Hangzhou. The plant has current capacity to produce approximately 15,000 EV packs or around 390MWh with plans to ramp to 20,000 packs or 520MWh by the end of 2010.
The plant is anticipated to double its production by the end of next year under the new joint venture.
Wanxiang’s EV division has planned production for its current customer backlog of 2,000 powertrain and battery pack systems in 2010, which involves cars, buses and commercial utility vehicles. Both companies expect the new joint venture will enable planned production volumes for 2010 to increase by as much as 50%.
The Wanxiang-Ener1 collaboration will also involve Ener1 seed investor and strategic partner ITOCHU, a $130bn Japanese trading house. ITOCHU will work alongside the joint venture, ramping its China-based material suppliers to provide materials for automotive grade production
Charles Gassenheimer, chairman and CEO of Ener1, said: “China is the fastest growing auto market in the world, currently producing 13 million vehicles per year and looking to sustain double digit growth over the next ten years.
“They are already ahead of the rest of the world in embracing EV technology, particularly in the heavy-duty sector. Over the next decade, we see demand for as many as one million heavy-duty vehicles. That’s a market opportunity worth tens of billions of dollars for the lithium-ion battery industry.”
