MUNICH (Reuters) – BMW plans to source 4 billion euros’ ($4.7 billion) worth of battery cells from Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (300750.SZ) (CATL) over the next few years, the carmaker’s purchasing head said on Monday.
The long-term contract sees 1.5 billion euros’ worth of battery cells coming from a new CATL plant in Erfurt, in the eastern German state of Thuringia, Markus Duesmann said in Munich.
The contract for the plant in Erfurt is due to be signed on Monday during a visit of China’s Premier Li Keqiang to Germany.
Duesmann said BMW had invested in some of the costs for the factory in Germany, but declined to say how much. He said he would welcome it if other carmakers also wanted to invest in the Erfurt plant.
Reporting by Irene Preisinger; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan