WATERTOWN, Mass. and SHANGHAI, China — A123 Systems, a developer and manufacturer of advanced Nanophosphate lithium ion batteries and systems, has been selected to develop battery packs for a new 2012 model year electric passenger car from Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), China’s largest automaker.
Under the terms of the agreement, A123 will use its cells to develop a customized battery pack that it will provide to Advanced Traction Battery Systems Co. (ATBS), the joint venture established between A123 and SAIC Motor Co. Ltd., for production.
This announcement accentuates the ongoing success of the A123/SAIC joint venture — the first to be established between a non-Chinese battery manufacturer and a leading Chinese automaker — and its focus on developing, manufacturing and selling complete vehicle traction battery systems in China, the largest and fastest growing automotive market in the world. In addition to this new zero-emission passenger car, A123 currently supplies battery technology to SAIC for several of its other electric drive-train vehicles in development, including the Roewe 750 hybrid electric sedan and the Roewe 550 plug-in hybrid electric sedan.
