Hyperdrive
Nissan Leaf’s Battery Supplier Builds First China Factory
- AESC targets triple battery capacity with plant in Wuxi
- Carmakers need to secure battery suppliers to roll out EVs
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The battery maker for Nissan Motor Co.’s Leaf vehicles is adding a factory in China to more than triple its global capacity and lure more customers in the world’s biggest electric-vehicle market.
Automotive Energy Supply Corp. began construction of the factory in Wuxi in China’s eastern Jiangsu province this year with a planned annual capacity of 20 gigawatt-hours, enough to power 400,000 electric cars a year, said Zhang Lei, chief executive officer of Envision Group. The Chinese renewable-energy company, which purchased a controlling stake in the battery business from Nissan, currently has three facilities in Japan, the U.S. and the U.K. that can produce a combined 7.5 gigawatt-hours of batteries for electric vehicles a year.