Japan OEM Nissan has failed to squash ‘speculation’ that is about to sell of its controlling stake in a battery manufacturing business.
Nissan Motor Co has held talks with companies, including Panasonic and some Chinese firms, over the sale of its car battery-manufacturing venture, reported The Nikkei Asian Review.
The report added the sale was due to Nissan wanting to source cheaper batteries for its electric vehicles from other makers.
However, a Nissan spokesman told BEST reports it wants to sell its 51% stake in Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) was just ‘speculation’.
AESC, which is jointly owned by NEC Corp, currently makes lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Martin Bayntun, Nissan’s corporate communications manager, said: “The article on Nissan and its battery business that has appeared in the Nikkei Newspaper is speculation and not based on any announcement by us.
“Nissan is committed to producing the best possible EV solutions for our customers. To that end, we continuously evaluate our business strategy in pursuit of optimal products and business structure.”
The statement fails to deny the potential sale however, with the Nikei reports claiming that two people with knowledge of the matter had said automaker wanted to sell its stake in AESC.
At the start of the year BBB reported that Nissan has committed £26.5 million to create Europe’s largest lithium-ion EV battery plant in Sunderland, UK. The firm is due to make its future generation lithium-ion EV batteries at the plant.
