A major Chinese automaker postpones its US launch as trade war drags on

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesGAC Motor, one of China's largest carmakers, has postponed its launch in the U.S. because of the ongoing trade war between the world's two-largest economies, a company executive said Tuesday.
The automaker, headquartered in Guangzhou in southern China, said its entrance into the U.S., which was anticipated for this year, will be postponed.
“The current relationship between the U.S. and China, the trade war, the relationship is uncertain” said Hebin Zeng, president of international at GAC Motor. “We postponed the plan to enter the North American market.”
Zeng declined to give a specific timeline on when GAC could enter the U.S.
“In terms of when we will go into the market, we will have further discussions depending on the changes of circumstances,” he said.
Geely is the only Chinese carmaker that sells in the U.S. through the Volvo Car brand that it owns.
GAC has been expanding into several international markets, particularly in the Middle East.

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Volvo announces battery suppliers for upcoming EV lineup, including Polestar

Polestar 2
Volvo, one of the first automakers to announce it would add electric power to its whole lineup, on Wednesday took the unusual step of formally announcing who will supply the batteries for all those electric cars.

The company stated that it will source $1 billion worth of lithium-ion batteries from two suppliers, LG Chem and Contemporary Amex Technology (CATL).

READ MORE: Polestar will qualify for $7,500 electric-car credit separately from Volvo

While the supply contract with Chinese CATL may have been predictable (Volvo is owned by Chinese automaker Geely, and CATL is one of the biggest players on the global stage). As competition for battery supplies heats up among automakers, it's also logical to name two suppliers. LG Chem supplies batteries for Volvo's current plug-in hybrids.

“With today’s agreement we effectively secured our battery supply for the upcoming decade,” said Martina Buchhauser, senior vice president for procurement at Volvo Cars in a statement. “By having two suppliers available in each region we also ensure that we have flexibility in our supply chain going forward.”

DON'T MISS: Volvo’s US Polestar electric-car plans are in flux over China tariffs

The batteries will go into Volvos based on two of the company's platforms: The Compact Modular Architecture that underpins the Polestar 2 and the Volvo XC40, will be the first. Those are the first two electric models from the company, with online preorders for the Polestar 2 already open and deliveries expected to begin next year. The XC40 electric is expected to debut late this year with deliveries following the Polestar 2.

Beyond that, Volvo's Scalable Product Architecture 2 that underpins the XC90 and XC60 SUVs will get the new batteries sometime after 2020.

CHECK OUT: Volvo taking on Tesla with Chinese-built Polestar 2 electric car: details and photos

The company is building its first battery assembly line at its existing auto factory in Ghent, Belgium. Volvo has said fully-electric cars will account for 50 percent of its sales by 2025. Volvo also announced that it is opening a new electric-car engineering center for Polestar in Coventry, England, to take advantage of engineering expertise there, the company said.

“The future of Volvo Cars is electric, and we are firmly committed to moving beyond the internal combustion engine,” said Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson in a statement. “Today’s agreements with CATL and LG Chem demonstrate how we will reach our ambitious electrification targets.”

Volvo Car Group signs multi-billion dollars battery supply deals

SHANGHAI, May 15 (Xinhua) — Volvo Car Group announced on Wednesday that it signed long-term agreements with leading battery makers CATL and LG Chem to ensure the multi-billion dollars supply of lithium-ion batteries over the coming decade for next-generation Volvo and Polestar models.

The agreements cover the global supply of battery modules for all models on the upcoming SPA2 and the existing CMA modular vehicle platforms and represent a major step toward realizing Volvo Cars' ambitious electrification strategy.

In 2017, Volvo Cars made the commitment that all new Volvo cars launched from 2019 would be electrified. The company stated that it aims for fully electric cars to make up 50 percent of its global sales volume by 2025.

“The future of Volvo Cars is electric, and we are firmly committed to moving beyond the internal combustion engine,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars. “Today's agreements with CATL and LG Chem demonstrate how we will reach our..

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Volvo inks multi-billion dollar EV battery supply deals with LG Chem, CATL

Swedish carmaker Volvo said on Wednesday it had signed long-term battery supply deals with two Asian battery makers, South Korea’s LG Chem and China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL).Volvo, owned by China’s Geely, is launching electric-vehicle (EV) models under Volvo and its sub-brand Polestar as it takes on global peers including Volkswagen, Tesla and General Motors in the increasingly competitive market for electric vehicles (EVs).

Volvo inks multi-billion-dollar battery deals with LG Chem and CATL for EVs

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