Gotion and VW to spend $3.67bn on European battery plants

The Shenzhen-listed battery maker published the filing on Monday. It sets out three joint ventures with a combined annual capacity of 37.5 GWh for battery cells and 100,000 metric tons of cathode material. Gotion will contribute about €1.6 billion, PowerCo about €1.62 billion, with funding released in stages. CnEVPost reported the figures the same day.

Valencia, Spain, is the largest slice: roughly €2.26 billion for 29.1 GWh of lithium-ion capacity a year. Gotion will take a 49% stake in the existing PowerCo Spain entity through a capital increase, leaving PowerCo with control at 51%. In Šurany, Slovakia, the plan calls for about €480 million for 8.4 GWh a year, with Gotion holding 51% and PowerCo 49%. Kenitra, Morocco, receives about €480 million for a lithium iron phosphate cathode plant, again with Gotion holding 51%. Cells from the two European sites will prioritise Volkswagen's European demand, the filing says, though purchase volumes and supply guarantees still depend on later definitive agreements. Construction scope excludes land and factory buildings, and each project is expected to take no more than five years.

The ownership structure matters. Volkswagen (China) Investment Co held 24.28% of Gotion as of 20 September, making it the battery maker's largest shareholder. The new arrangement tightens that relationship rather than creating a clean joint venture between equals: PowerCo takes minority positions in Gotion's projects, while Gotion takes minority positions in PowerCo's.

Where the money sits

None of this is signed yet. Gotion's board approved the proposal on 28 September, but the companies have yet to sign the investment agreement. The transaction still needs shareholder approval and government clearances in China and overseas. Gotion flagged that capital expenditure will rise in the near term, and that financing, approvals and market changes could affect construction schedules and expected returns.

Gotion enters the deal with momentum. Its global EV battery installations hit 34.0 GWh in the first seven months of 2026, up 44.2% year on year, according to South Korean research firm SNE Research. That placed it fifth worldwide with a 4.7% share, up from 3.9%. CATL led at 39.9%, BYD at 14.7%.

A policy week in China

The investment landed alongside a Chinese government roadmap for batteries. On Monday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a five-year battery industry development plan covering 2026 to 2030. Dated 14 September, it was jointly issued by seven agencies, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport. The plan targets initial large-scale use of all-solid-state batteries by 2030, plus 15,000 charge-discharge cycles for long-life lithium batteries and parts-per-billion defect rates for leading manufacturers. It calls for work on ionic conductivity, cycling stability, interfacial contact, pressure-system engineering and solid electrolyte production, and pairs high-voltage cathodes with lithium-metal anodes and anode-free designs. Sodium batteries get a supporting role, with a supply system centred on lithium.

Consolidation is explicitly encouraged. The document supports corporate mergers and restructuring, faster domestic exploration of lithium and cobalt, and used-battery collection systems tied to sales volumes. It also floats a digital identity system for power batteries and a battery passport concept with mutual recognition of carbon footprint data. CnEVPost reported the plan on 28 September.

Swapping and the rest of the week

Not all battery news this week is about cells. Nio announced definitive agreements on Sunday to hand a Geely Holding subsidiary 30% of Nio Power, its swap and charging unit, at a post-money valuation of about RMB16 billion ($2.4 billion), according to Electrek and CnEVPost. Most of the consideration is not cash. Geely contributes its commercial swap operator Yiyi Power plus RMB640 million ($94 million), while Nio China takes 10% of Geely's Haohan Energy charging arm. Nio China keeps control with 63.6%. Geely's stake can fall to a floor of 20% if operational milestones are missed, and it holds an option for another RMB640 million within two years, which would take it to 34%.

On the consumer side, FAW-Volkswagen's Jetta brand opened pre-sales in China on Monday for the M6, its first battery electric model. Priced from 80,800 yuan ($11,990) to 99,800 yuan, the car features batteries from CALB and is due for launch in mid-October, CnEVPost reported. Kia Philippines, meanwhile, rolled out the EV3 on 21 September at P1.898 million (roughly $30,400), with a 58.3 kWh battery and up to 511 km on the NEDC cycle, CleanTechnica reported.

Further out, Austria will allow peer-to-peer electricity sharing from 5 October. Initially, this applies only between metering points on the same grid operator. Reduced grid charges are expected from January 2027, with nationwide implementation planned from April 2027, pv magazine reported on 28 September. That is a market design question, not a cell chemistry one, but it shapes where home charging and stationary storage get built.