Tesla Looks to German Acquisition to Increase Battery Production Capabilities
Tesla continues their aggressive plans for dominance in the EV market. As we reported last week, the company has ambitious plans to enter the Indian market next year. While that market will certainly require a cheaper model than what the company sells now, Tesla’s on it. The brand intends to drive toward EV adoption with better, longer-lasting batteries and less expensive models.
And on Friday, word leaked of a deal over in Germany that’s an important part of Tesla’s expansion plan.
Additional markets, more high-performance cars like the Plaid version of the S, and (eventual) upcoming models like the Cybertruck and Semi – all point toward much greater demand for batteries. Parts of Tesla’s plan surfaced toward the end of September when it was announced that some assets and employees of German ATW (Assembly & Test Worldwide) Automation, a subsidiary of Canadian-based ATS Automation Tooling Systems, were in the process of sale and transfer to an undisclosed company. On Friday, Reuters reported a source that identified the previously undisclosed company as none other than Tesla.
ATW is a builder of battery production lines and assembles the modules and packs which power EVs. With roughly 120 employees, ATW has previously completed more than 20 battery production lines for automakers around the globe. ATW was acquired by ATS in 2010 when ATS purchased all German and American locations of ATW.
The company was struggling in recent times, as a slump in new business sent it toward bankruptcy. Tesla came to the rescue and will scoop up ATW at what was likely a bargain price.
ATW’s location in Germany is relevant here, as Tesla is presently working on a new Gigafactory at Berlin-Brandenburg. The factory will start its production with the Model Y, and is expected to employ 4,000 people when it’s completed in July of 2021. The Berlin factory will include its own battery plant, and ATW will be handy to assist. Tesla expects to start on another new factory in Texas sometime this year.
[Image: Tesla]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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FWIW, the Austin factory site prep is ~74 days old already. "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jld5YGAxM28" I'm surprised nobody else picked up ATS before Tesla.