As business publications such as the Handelsblatt and Wirtschaftswoche have reported, France will be investing 700 million euros in European electric-car battery production over the next five years. A corresponding initiative is to be launched in the coming months in coordination with Germany. French automakers Peugeot and Renault are supporting the plans.

In Germany, too, the entire concept of battery production is undergoing a change in perspective. Daimler subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Cars is already hard at work on its own association for battery producers , a project in which it is investing one billion euros. As soon as the new facilities in Sindelfingen and Untertürkheim are complete, the corporation will have a total of eight battery factories at six company locations on three continents. Last fall, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier (CDU) announced that the German Government is prepared to offer one billion euros in taxpayer money for battery-cell production.