German auto producer BMW has awarded a 2.9bn euro ($3.21bn) contract to supply battery cells for its next wave of electric vehicles (EVs), locking in components needed for its future expansion.
Samsung SDI will supply fifth-generation EV battery cells to BMW from 2021 to 2031. Samsung SDI is already a supplier to BMW, but the new contract ensures that the company will provide battery cells needed as BMW rolls out a series of new models.
BMW plans to introduce 25 new EV and hybrid vehicles, more than half of which will be fully electric models, by 2023. The company moved up its EV expansion plan by two years in June and said it expects to double its sales of hybrid and electric models by 2021.
Samsung SDI said in October that European auto producers will about double their EV production next year as more stringent emissions rules kick in and increased subsidies are offered.
Samsung SDI plans to add as many as a dozen production lines at its EV battery factory in Hungary, boosting its output capacity at the plant more than fourfold. The plant currently can produce enough batteries to supply 50,000 EVs annually.
By Tony Cox
