by Victoria Waldersee and Christina Amann
WOLFSBURG, GERMANY (Reuters) – Volkswagen will not list its electric car battery subsidiary on the stock market until its factories are operational and the unified cell developed by the German group is put into service, the company said. director of the division at Reuters, thus ruling out the possibility of a listing before 2026.
These comments from Thomas Schmall constitute the best indication to date of the timetable envisaged by the leading European automobile manufacturer for listing its PowerCo subsidiary on the stock market.
The German group is initially seeking to appeal to an external investor or to enter into strategic partnerships with other battery manufacturers.
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“As a second step, an IPO remains an option for the future. However, this question will only arise once the factories are operational and the unified battery cell is used,” Thomas told Reuters Schmall.
Volkswagen spun off its battery unit in mid-2022 and is investing 20 billion euros with partners to build factories with a capacity of 240 gigawatt hours by 2030, hoping to better control its supply chain and catch up with competitor Tesla.
The PowerCo subsidiary, which is targeting a turnover of 20 billion euros by the end of the decade, has so far announced the opening of three battery cell factories in Salzgitter, Valencia and Ontario in Canada, respectively in 2025, 2026 and 2027.
It plans to use its unified cell for at least 80% of its electric cars from 2025 – making 2026 the earliest date for the conditions mentioned by Thomas Schmall for a stock market listing to be met.
At the end of January, Renault announced the cancellation of the IPO of Ampère, its showcase division dedicated to electric vehicles, citing inadequate market conditions. The French manufacturer said it had enough cash to finance the activity from its own resources.
(Reporting Victoria Waldersee and Christina Amann in Wolfsburg; with the help of Nick Carey in London; French version Nathan Vifflin, editing by Blandine Hénault)
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