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Buffett-Backed BYD Close to Battery Supply Deal With Audi

  • Talks with Chinese firm cover e-cars, are said to be advanced
  • Automakers seek to diversify sources of critical components
BYD Co. electric vehicles in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China.

BYD Co. electric vehicles in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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Volkswagen AG’s Audi luxury-car brand is in talks to add China’s BYD Co. as a supplier of batteries used in its premium electric vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter.

Negotiations with Warren Buffett-backed BYD, China’s top electric-car manufacturer and No. 2 auto-battery supplier, are at an advanced stage, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. BYD is also in discussions with other automakers about battery-supply deals, one of the people said. There’s no guarantee that an agreement with Audi will be reached, the people said.