VW wants European industry to back push for EV battery cells

[September 13, 2017]  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen wants industrial players in Germany and Europe to help shoulder the costs for battery technology needed to power carmakers' electric-vehicle offerings, the head of its core autos division said.

A photographer takes a picture of a Volkswagen logo before the opening of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Europe's largest automaker, its German rival Daimler and PSA Group used the Frankfurt auto show this week to speed up their push for zero-emissions motoring.

Volkswagen (VW) will expand its planned roll-out of electric cars to 80 models by 2025 from 30 a year ago and said it would need four times the capacity of Tesla's <TSLA.O> "gigafactory" to supply their batteries.

"It would be desirable for the German and European industry to play a stronger role here," VW brand Chief Executive Herbert Diess said when asked about the prospects for battery-cell production.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer and Jan Schwartz; Editing by Christoph Steitz)

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