Reports started circulating this week that Nissan would sell off its ownership stake in the
Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC). The builder of the world’s most popular plug-in vehicle (for now) might be looking to sell its share (51 percent) to Panasonic or a Chinese company because it will be cheaper to buy them from someone else (like General Motors does for the Chevy Bolt EV and Chevy Volt). Nissan told
AutoblogGreen in a statement that, “[the report] on Nissan and its battery business is speculation, and is 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.” That’s not a no.
AESC is owned by Nissan (51 percent) and the NEC Corporation, and the NEC Tokin Corporation. It was
started in 2007. It had
big plans. If Nissan does get out of making its own batteries, it could “energize” (hehe) its rivals, the
Nikkei Asian Review
says. The most-watched electric car company, Tesla, is building its own battery “
Gigafactory” in Nevada, in partnership with Panasonic. Nissan’s Alliance partner Renault opened the door to working with outside battery supplier LG Chem for its EVs
back in 2012.
Related Video:
