Porsche is throwing in the towel on internal automotive-battery production, citing the slowdown in consumer adoption of battery-electric vehicles.
The luxury performance automaker says in a statement its Cellforce Group battery company will now be “realigning” to focus on R&D.
The move is expected to see up to two-thirds of the company’s employees laid off. In an enquiry by WardsAuto, a Porsche spokesperson states in an email that, while the company does not comment on numbers for legal reasons, “…(two-thirds) goes in the right direction.”
That said, some employees will be offered relocation to sites run by the Volkswagen Group battery unit PowerCo, Porsche’s statement adds.
Cellforce had been expecting to expand its battery production capabilities as part of Europe’s bid to become less dependent on Chinese imports for domestically produced BEVs.
This move is seen as another blow to this ambition after the collapse of Sweden’s Northvolt battery manufacturer, although U.S. start-up Lyten has recently extended a lifeline to the company.
Challenging trading conditions, i.e., U.S. tariffs on auto imports, and flagging demand for German luxury BEVs in China are also being blamed for the scrapping of battery production plans, Porsche’s CEO Oliver Blume says in the statement.
“For volume reasons and a lack of economies of scale, Porsche is no longer pursuing its own production of battery cells,” he adds.
