VW to Take Stake in Waymo?

Volkswagen AG may buy a 10% stake in Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo self-driving unit and partner with the company on mobility services in Europe, sources tell Germany’s Manager Magazin.

The deal, which is valued at €12 billion ($13.7 billion), is said to be championed by VW CEO Herbert Diess. But the carmaker’s supervisory board is leery of spending that much money, according to the report.

Separately, Manager Magazin says VW is mulling a partnership with South Korea's SK Innovation Co. to produce lithium-ion batteries for electrified vehicles. The magazine describes the deal as a mult-billion-euro investment.

The VW brand alone plans to introduce 18 all-electric models over the next four years and produce at least 300,000 EVs per year by then. Earlier this month the carmaker announced a joint task force with LG Chem Ltd. that will help monitor the security of the battery supply chain.