SAIC to from car battery joint venture with US firm

A US car battery manufacturer will form a joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) to sell battery systems for electric vehicles in China, Reuters reported. Massachusetts-based A123 Systems, which produces lithium-ion batteries, will take a 49% stake in the venture – known as Shanghai Advanced Traction Battery Systems – to SAIC’s 51%. The traction battery systems produced will be used in hybrid electric, pure electric passenger vehicles and in heavy-duty buses and trucks. Lithium-ion batteries are primarily found in mobile phones and laptop computers but A123 expects global automotive market demand to hit US$22 billion by 2015, up from US$32 million in 2009. The company is already working with BMW, Daimler, Chrysler and Renault. SAIC wants to launch a hybrid Roewe 750 sedan and a plug-in hybrid Roewe 550 – both equipped with A123 battery cells – in 2012.