Dive Brief:
- Auto supplier BorgWarner signed an 8-year international manufacturing and intellectual property deal with FinDreams Battery last week.
- FinDreams Battery, a subsidiary of China-based electric vehicle maker BYD, will supply BorgWarner with blade cells for manufacturing lithium iron phosphate battery packs in Europe, the Americas and selected Asia Pacific regions.
- BorgWarner will also secure an intellectual property license to use FinDreams’ battery pack design and manufacturing process.
Dive Insight:
BorgWarner is one of many auto companies turning to LFP batteries for their lower cost compared to nickel manganese cobalt options.
“The LFP battery chemistry is an exciting technology that is cost competitive in comparison with some other cell chemistries. We're seeing increased demand from our customers for tax with LFP sales,” BorgWarner President and CEO Frédéric Lissalde said during a Feb. 8 earnings call. “FinDreams Battery is right for BorgWarner in this area with over 20 years of experience in batteries with numerous successful product launches.”
The FinDreams deal could help BorgWarner to scale production as it strives to keep pace with growing demand, including for battery systems for commercial trucks and buses, Lissalde said during the call.
BorgWarner is also investing in new manufacturing capacity to meet its needs, including a $42 million upgrade and expansion at its Seneca, South Carolina, battery factory.
"We expect this capacity expansion to help drive a $250 million to $350 million increase in battery systems sales in 2024," Lissalde said.
It’s also spending $20 million at its Michigan sites to expedite EV product development.
BorgWarner has its own ambitions for the China market, where it operates 11 production plants. China is a global EV and parts manufacturing hub, as production there is cost effective, Ilaria Mazzocco, senior fellow with the trustee chair in Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Congress in August.
The company has also been working with China-based EV makers and suppliers recently. BorgWarner announced on Feb. 8 it signed a contract with an unnamed China-based OEM to supply its dual inverters for the auto manufacturer’s plug-in hybrid and range extended EVs.
And in January, BorgWarner formed a joint venture with commercial vehicle supplier Shaanxi Fast Auto Drive Group to tap further into the China EV market. The China-based company specializes in transmissions and drivetrain systems, which transfers power from the engine to the wheels.
The two companies are working on accelerating a high-voltage inverter application for heavy-duty trucks and off-road vehicles in the Chinese market, Lissalde told analysts.
“BorgWarner will then be able to use these products and technologies for the rest of the world,” Lissalde said.
Even as the U.S. pushes to grow its domestic EV sector, multiple automakers are leveraging China-based EV manufacturing expertise as they look to innovate and scale, while cutting production costs. Ford’s upcoming LFP factory in Michigan, for example, will use knowledge and services provided by Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited.
