BMW on Thursday informed that it had ordered more than 10 billion euros ($11.07 billion) worth of battery cells from Contemporary Amperex Technology, a Chinese battery cell maker, and Samsung SDI.
BMW stated it had increased its order with CATL to 7.3 billion euros from an original booking declared in mid-2018 which was worth 4 billion euros. It stated the contract would last from 2020 to 2031.
BMW stated it had signed a battery supply contract with Samsung SDI as well, which is worth 2.9 billion euros, valid from 2021 to 2031.
BMW stated it would get the cobalt it requires for cell production from mines in Australia and Morocco and supply it to CATL and Samsung SDI. It stated it would source lithium from mines including those in Australia.
BMW prepares to have 25 electrified models in its offering by 2023, with over half of them completely electric. It expects sales of electrified automobiles two increase two times between 2019 and 2021.
Europe’s auto industry is promoting zero-emissions vehicles as a way to adhere to their clean air rules, a strategy shift that forces automakers to retool their supply chains to build electric, instead of combustion engine cars.
