Porsche plans EV battery cell factory in Germany

BERLIN -- Porsche is speeding up its e-mobility drive with plans for a German factory to manufacture battery cells for electric vehicles, CEO Oliver Blume told a German newspaper.

"Battery cells are a key technology for Germany's automobile industry which we must also have in our own country," Blume told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

Porsche wants to play a pioneering role in this," he said, adding that the battery cell factory would be built in the Swabian town of Tuebingen.

European automakers are looking to reduce their dependence on Asian manufacturers as they ramp up production of electric cars to meet tougher environmental rules in the European Union.

Porsche will purchase EV batteries from its parent company Volkswagen Group which plans to build half a dozen battery cell plants across Europe.

"But there will also be a segment for high-performance battery cells," Blume said. "It's a Porsche domain. Just as we developed high-performance internal combustion engines, we now want to be at the forefront of high-performance batteries."

Existing battery suppliers are focusing on volume so that more specialized needs such as Porsche's are falling to the back of the line, Michael Steiner, Porsche's development chief, told Automotive News Europe earlier this month.