Magna to invest up to $600 million in battery plants

Magna International, Canada's biggest car parts manufacturer, has said it will invest between $400 million to $600 million in two new plants to manufacture lithium-ion batteries for electric cars.  The company is said to be scouting locations for the plants, one of which will be in the US and the other in Europe. About $200 million to $300 million will be spent on each plant.  Ontario-based Magna started a new business earlier this year that will focus exclusively on electric cars, producing complete vehicles as well as battery unitsÔÇöwhich remain the most costly and complex component of electric cars.  Lithium-ion batteries are lighter and more powerful than the nickel-hydride batteries currently in use. Car manufacturers are trying to lower the costs of the batteries in order to help facilitate the mass production of electric vehicles.  Serial car production will begin in 2012 or 2013.  The new battery factories will mark MagnaÔÇÖs first lithium-ion production facilities, with the decision on the exact locations due to be made before the end of the year.  The boom in hybrid and electric vehicle development has led to auto makers racing to meet aggressive new worldwide emissions regulations due to come into force by 2016.  MagnaÔÇÖs rivals are already moving into production of lithium-ion batteries. BMW has teamed up with GermanyÔÇÖs Robert Bosch and Korean battery maker Samsung on lithium-ion power packs. Daimler, which manufactures Mercedes-Benz vehicles, is also planning to produce lithium-ion batteries at a new factory in Germany under a joint venture with Evonik Industries.  General Motors and JapanÔÇÖs Nissan are on track to have e-vehicles ready for sale by the end of this year.  Last year, Magna made a bid for a majority stake in General MotorsÔÇÖ Opel unit. Under the deal, Magna had planned to assemble Opel vehicles in Russia. The company has now said it is interested in smaller acquisitions at around the $200 million mark.  Magna has recently been linked to a bid for GKN, the UK-based aircraft component manufacturer; but it has denied that it is interested in a takeover.  Magna designs, develops and manufactures automotive systems, assemblies, modules and componentsÔÇöand engineers and assembles complete vehiclesÔÇöprimarily for sale to OEMs of vehicles in North America, Europe, Asia,┬áSouth America and Africa.  As of December 2009, the company had 238 manufacturing operations and 79 product development, engineering and sales centers in 25 countries on five continents. The company has around 72,000 employees worldwide.