Volkswagen, Bosch give up joint venture plans for battery cells

(Reuters) - Volkswagen and Bosch have cancelled their plans to create a joint venture to equip battery cell factories, Bosch said on Thursday.

"We are not setting up a joint venture," Bosch Chief Executive Officer Stefan Hartung said, adding that the partnership with the German carmaker to digitise its battery factories would continue.

As speed is key in digitalisation, it would be "better to work together on a project level than in such a construction" Bosch's head of digital Tanja Rueckert said.

The joint venture, announced at the beginning of 2022, was designed to deliver battery production systems, as well as assisting battery cell manufacturers in scaling up and maintaining their production sites.

"Volkswagen and PowerCo are sticking to their plan to get involved in equipping battery cell factories in the future. We are in talks with potential partners. We will inform you about the exact constellation in due course,” a Volkswagen spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, Writing by Tristan Veyet, Editing by Friederike Heine, Madeline Chambers)