Chinese Battery Maker to Open Factory Next to Swedish EV Plant

GSR Capital, the Chinese private-equity firm that bought Nissan Motor Co.’s battery-making business, plans to invest $500 million in National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB.

GSR said it will also build a battery factory next door to NEVS’s facility, which is based on the site of a former Saab auto plant in Trollhattan. Chinese investors lead by Kai Johan Jiang are turning the Saab factory into an electric vehicle producer, making cars under the NEVS brand.

“The factory would make battery packs for 400,000-500,000 cars a year, which means they would not only intend to supply NEVS with batteries, but are counting on other customers in Sweden and Europe,” Fredrik Fryklund, a communications manager at NEVS, said by phone.

The new facility rivals Northvolt AB’s plan to build a 4 billion-euro battery factory in the north of Sweden. GSR’s announcement comes a day after car maker Volkswagen AG said it secured 20 billion euros in battery supplies.

GSR didn’t say when they expect to complete the battery factory. The investment in NEVS will be made as a loan convertible into company shares.