Nissan, NEC sell battery tech to Chinese

Nissan Motor Company and energy-tech giant NEC have sold their rechargeable lithium-ion battery business collaboration to GSR Capital.

Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC), established in 2007 for supplying batteries for the Leaf electric vehicle program, has been bought by the Chinese private equity firm GSR Capital for $1 billion, Bloomberg says.

Based out of Calgary, Canada, GSR Capital will take control of the battery manufacturing operations in the UK and US, and a portion of the Japan battery-development and engineering operation. This includes cell manufacturing, module pack assembly and the battery management electrical systems.

GSR says it want to develop AESC into a Tier 1 automotive OEM on a global scale, promising expansion through European and Chinese partners.

“The acquisition of AESC represents an important step for us in the new energy vehicle industry chain,” says GSR chairman Sonny Wu.

“We plan to further invest in R&D, expand existing capacities in the US, UK, Japan and also establish new facilities in China and Europe to better serve global customers with our global supply chain capabilities and safety-first engineering DNA,” Wu tells Market Insider.

The workforce at all facilities covered by the deal, including the production plants at Zama, Sunderland and Smyrna, will continue to be employed. The headquarters and development centres of the business will remain in Japan.

The AESC Leaf batteries power over 270,000 of the world’s first all-electric mass-production vehicle, which is now the best-selling EV globally. The Leaf has driven over 3.6 billion kilometres since its 2010 debut.