By Sabine Wollrab
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) could score one of its major clients as a strategic investor in its battery unit PowerCo, Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said, not ruling out that there could be several investors down the line.
The battery unit's first planned client is Ford, to whom it will deliver cells for vehicles the U.S. carmaker is building in Europe on Volkswagen's electric MEB platform.
It is also in advanced talks with Mahindra about delivering battery cells and its MEB electric platform, making the Indian company another possible strategic investor candidate.
Other options for partners could include a financial investor or someone with know-how of the battery industry, he added.
PowerCo will begin producing cells from 2025 onwards, with three plants announced in Salzgitter, Valencia, and Ontario.
Antlitz said on the sidelines of the listing of Porsche (ETR:P911_p) in September 2022 that PowerCo could be the next unit to be split off, first via engaging strategic investors and later a stock market listing.
The carmaker plans to meet half its own demand with its battery unit and sell the remaining output to third-party customers.
Speaking in Frankfurt at the International Club of Frankfurt Business Journalists (ICFW), Antlitz reiterated previous comments that he would not exclude an investor being found in the next year and that interest remained high.
The company may put further holdings on the market to finance possible acquisitions in future, he added.