According to Volkswagen, a deal has been signed with Varta Microbattery. The joint venture will give VW additional access to advanced batteries for upcoming electric vehicles.
Volkswagen currently has similar deals with additional battery makers including Toshiba, Sanyo and BYD.
This newest joint venture comes just after VW unveiled a prototype of the e-UP! plug-in EV concept vehicle at the Frankfurt Motor Show. They hope to launch this vehicle in Europe by 2013. The company also intends to introduce another, larger EV in the States.
The deal with Varta will provide VW with additional battery resources. According to VW, the project's aim is to focus on research and development of highly advanced li-ion technology that is also cost competitive.
The joint venture must be approved by German officials before the two companies are officially able to work together.
Source: Edmunds
