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A123 Shifts Focus to Batteries for Hybrids
Battery maker A123 Systems LLC, which went bankrupt last year after betting heavily on an electric vehicle market that didn't develop, is turning to supplying smaller batteries for hybrid vehicles instead, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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Battery maker A123 Systems LLC, which went bankrupt last year after betting heavily on an electric vehicle market that didn't develop, is turning to supplying smaller batteries for hybrid vehicles instead, The Wall Street Journal reports.
CEO Jason Forcier says the company has adopted a "more moderate plan" for steady growth driven by a sharp focus on faster-growing demand for the smaller lithium-ion battery systems used in hybrids.
A123 filed for bankruptcy protection last October and sold its automotive operations three months later to China's Wanxiang Group for $257 million. Forcier tells the Journal that the restructured battery maker, now headquartered in Livonia, Mich., expects 20% annual growth in revenue for the next several years.
The global EV battery making industry is operating at no more than 20% of capacity, Forcier estimates, mainly because consumer demand for pure electric vehicles remains low. The Journal notes that A123 supplies high-tech propulsion batteries to BMW, Daimler and General Motors for use in all-electric and hybrid powertrains.
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