Battery money moves: Gotion and VW commit $3.67bn as China sets solid-state deadline

The filing, first reported by CnEVPost on 28 September, sets out three joint ventures to be run through subsidiaries of Gotion and Volkswagen's PowerCo. Gotion would put in about €1.6 billion, PowerCo about €1.62 billion, with money released in stages.

As of 20 September, Volkswagen (China) Investment Co held 24.28% of Gotion, making it the battery maker's largest shareholder. Valencia, Spain, is the single biggest piece: about €2.26 billion for 29.1 GWh of annual lithium-ion capacity. Gotion plans to take 49% of the existing PowerCo Spain through a capital increase, leaving PowerCo with 51% and control. In Šurany, Slovakia, the plan is roughly €480 million for 8.4 GWh, with the stakes reversed: Gotion 51%, PowerCo 49%. Cells from both sites would prioritise Volkswagen's European demand, though CnEVPost notes that specific volumes and supply assurances still depend on definitive agreements.

The third project sits outside Europe. About €480 million would go to Kenitra, Morocco, for 100,000 metric tons a year of lithium iron phosphate cathode material, again Gotion-controlled at 51% and aimed first at the two battery joint ventures. Construction for all three excludes land and factory buildings and is expected to take no more than five years, per the filing.

Not signed, not approved

Gotion's board approved the proposal on 28 September, but the companies have not signed the investment agreement. Shareholder approval and government clearances in China and overseas are still needed, and Gotion warned that financing, approvals and market changes could affect construction schedules and expected returns. That is a normal stack of caveats for a deal this size, and it is worth remembering that the announcement is a board resolution, not a completed transaction.

Why Gotion can pitch this at all: its global EV battery installations hit 34.0 GWh in the first seven months of 2026, up 44.2% year on year, according to South Korean research firm SNE Research, cited by CnEVPost. That lifted its market share to 4.7% from 3.9%, ranking it fifth worldwide behind CATL at 39.9% and BYD at 14.7%.

“The all-electric model builds on the strengths of the bestseller and offers premium design, generous space, intuitive operation, and innovative technologies,” Volkswagen Brand CEO Thomas Shafer said.

Volkswagen's own product plans are moving in parallel. Electrek reported on 28 September that the ID. Tiguan will replace the ID.4 and ID.5 in 2027, starting in Europe, with the US and other markets following. The ID.4 and ID.5 have sold more than 950,000 units since going on sale in 2021, and Volkswagen delivered over 1 million Tiguan and Tayron models globally in the past year. The ID. Tiguan debuts in early October, according to the company, though no date was given.

On the same day, CnEVPost reported that FAW-Volkswagen's Jetta brand opened pre-sales in China for the M6, its first battery electric model, at 80,800 to 99,800 yuan, or roughly $11,990 at the top end of the headline range in the article's own conversion. The M6 comes in three variants with CLTC ranges of 465 km, 555 km and 555 km, with batteries supplied by CALB, a Horizon Robotics Journey 6M chip for highway and urban NOA, and an official launch set for mid-October.

Beijing sets a 2030 target for solid state

Policy is pushing from the other side. CnEVPost reported on 28 September that China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a battery industry development plan for 2026 to 2030, dated 14 September and issued jointly by seven agencies including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport. The headline goal: initial large-scale use of all-solid-state batteries by 2030. The document also targets long-life lithium batteries at 15,000 charge-discharge cycles and product defect rates at parts-per-billion level for leading manufacturers.

Other items in the plan: faster work on ionic conductivity and cycling stability for solid-state cells, high-voltage high-capacity cathodes paired with lithium-metal or anode-free designs, isostatic presses for solid-state manufacturing, sodium batteries for cold resistance and long cycle life, support for mergers and restructuring, domestic exploration of lithium and cobalt, and a digital identity system for EV power batteries that nods to internationally accepted battery passports and mutual recognition of carbon footprint data.

That last point matters for the European projects. A battery passport that travels with the pack is easier to trust if the data behind it is recognised across borders, which is roughly what the Chinese plan proposes.

Commercial vehicles are getting attention too. CleanTechnica reported on 27 September that CATL unveiled its TECTRANS II platform at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hanover, claiming up to 1,000 km of range for the heavy-duty configuration, 80% charge in 25 minutes on megawatt-level charging, 170 Wh/kg gravimetric energy density, and a 12-year or 1.5 million km service life with 70% capacity retention. CATL put the development-cycle cut at about 50% and R&D cost reduction at 60% to 70%. It also signed a memorandum of understanding with DHL Group on European green freight corridors.

Costs, not just chemistry

The economic case for electrifying freight is improving independently of any single product launch. Transport & Environment published an analysis on 28 September finding that electric trucks deliver a lower total cost of ownership in six of nine major EU markets, which together account for 46% of new heavy truck sales in the EU. In the Netherlands the five-year saving can reach €100,000 and in Germany €85,000, with payback after two years; at current high diesel prices those figures rise to €123,000 and €106,000. T&E's modelling has electric trucks cheaper to operate in all nine countries by 2030.

Stef Cornelis, director of freight and fleets at T&E, said: “Europe's truckers are on the front line of the diesel crisis. There has never been a better time to switch from diesel to electric, but we need truckmakers and governments to support them in doing so.” The group wants the -43% 2030 HDV CO2 target left intact, full toll exemptions for zero-emission trucks until 2031 and 50% to 75% afterwards, and continued support for depot charging.

Elsewhere in the dossier, pv magazine reported on 28 September that Austria will allow peer-to-peer electricity sharing from 5 October, initially only between metering points on the same grid operator, with reduced grid charges due from 1 January 2027 and nationwide implementation planned from April 2027. And CleanTechnica reported on 27 September that ERCOT logged an all-time peak demand of 91.1 GW on 22 July 2026, breaking the previous 85.5 GW record 45 times over the summer, with no conservation requests issued. None of that is battery news on its own. All of it is the market the cells are being built for.