And the Chinese companies just keep burrowing deeper and deeper into the supply chains.
From NikkeiAsia, June 28:
Green tech group signs deal with Nissan's French partner and seeks growth in Europe
Chinese green tech company Envision Group plans to invest 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in a battery plant in France to supply Renault Group, underlining how Asian companies are aiming for a major slice of Europe's electric vehicle supply chain.
Envision and the French automaker -- which is in a car making alliance with Japan's Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors -- announced the plans on Monday. Zhang Lei, Envision's founder and chief executive, is due to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and the automaker's officials on a visit to France on Monday, a group spokesperson said.
The factory will be built in partnership with Renault in Douai, northern France, near the automaker's existing plant. Its capacity will reach 9 gigawatt hours per year by 2024 and 24 GWh by 2030, Renault said in a statement on Monday.
Envision Group did not hide its ambition for a bigger market in the region.
"This first-phase development will unlock future large-scale investment to grow the local supply chain and develop the whole life cycle opportunities of batteries, including energy storage, battery reuse, smart charging and closed loop recycling," Zhang said.
It will be the fourth overseas plant for Envision AESC, the group's battery unit, which it acquired from Nissan in 2018.
It is following in the footsteps of other Chinese battery makers, led by market leader Contemporary Amperex Technology, in aiming to capitalize on growing appetite for EVs in Europe. Last year almost 1.4 million EVs were sold in Europe, amounting to year-on-year growth of 137%.....
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