The electric Porsche 718 lineup is set to launch next year, bidding farewell to the gas-powered 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster. But that plan has hit a major snag in the fallout over Swedish battery maker Northvolt filing for bankruptcy.

Back in 2022, the Volkswagen subsidiary announced plans to replace the current generation of Porsche 718 with an all-electric range developed from the Mission R concept of 2021 and the GT4 ePerformance prototype from 2022. While only a few details have been released, Porsche did say that the 718 EV should have at least 250 miles of range and use a similar 800-volt architecture that allows the Taycan to DC fast-charge at a rate of up to 270 kWh. Not to mention the “real sports car” feels of the vehicle, with its battery tucked behind the driver’s seat to shift the center of gravity, allowing for more agile, flexible control.

While Porsche hasn’t confirmed, reports say that the 718 was being developed with a battery from Northvolt, whose much-hyped ambitions for European sourced batteries have come crashing down this year. In 2019, Volkswagen had become Northvolt’s largest shareholder with a 21% stake, and a few years later signed an order for battery cells worth 14 billion euros over 10 years. Yet, things for Northvolt started to go southward. BMW canceled an 2 billion euro order earlier this year, followed by Volkswagen pulling out of the board and significantly reducing its shareholding. A few days later, Northvolt filed for bankruptcy in the US via its local subsidiary.

So now Porsche is left without a battery – and Northvolt’s high-energy density batteries were crucial to keeping the vehicle light and fast with smaller battery packs. While there are plenty of suppliers, the switch will require some maneuvering.

Other EVs could be impacted as well, as Audi’s deal with Northvolt for batteries used to power models based on the PPE platform, which includes the A6 e-tron, is left without a plan B. Audi, however, sources batteries from CATL and LG, so the company might have an easier transition to source batteries from another supplier already on its roster.

However, Porsche, too, is reviewing its electrification strategy and says it will extend and launch new ICE models in the next few years, reversing its decision to keep only the 911 as the surviving combustion engine after 2030.

Both the US and Europe have been trying to break free from China’s control over the EV battery sector, and Northvolt’s failure has hit hard. BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen, and others were counting on Northvolt to supply batteries for future EVs. Plans were put in place to build factories in Gothenburg, in southern Sweden, and Poland, Germany, and Canada, all backed by huge government subsidies. Back in January, the company raised an additional $5 billion, firmly locking in its position as one of Europe’s best-funded startups and recipient of the largest-ever green loan in the EU.

Of course, other battery makers have hit hard times as well, including Stellantis-backed Automative Cells Company, which has stopped construction on factories in Germany and Italy. Volkswagen too has recently scaled back its plans to build battery cell factories in Europe and North America as well.  

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Electric school bus maker Lion Electric has suspended manufacturing at its Joliet, Illinois facility after laying off nearly four hundred workers – more than half its global employees. The company hopes Canadian real estate developers Groupe Mach can save the day.

The remaining 300-off Lion Electric employees are working to manage the company’s ongoing operations – including sales, deliveries, and customer service – while the executive team engages Groupe Mach in discussions to provide more funding to the cash-strapped electric bus manufacturer.

The 900,000 square-foot Joliet factory opened in July 2023, and is the largest all-electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicle assembly plant in the US. At full capacity, the plant is capable of churning out some 20,000 electric vehicles annually. 

Groupe Mach and the Ontario-based Mirella & Lino Saputo Foundation were part of a group of investors that bought $90 million of equity in Lion Electric back in 2023, but Canada’s Financial Post reports that Mach will only step in if the Saputo family are also willing to put more cash to help bail the company out.

Financial Post said their source spoke on the condition of anonymity, as the talks are ongoing. The National Bank of Canada, and other Lion stakeholders, have given the temporary help to get through the next two weeks, suspending payments on a line of corporate credit line until Dec. 16, giving the troubled bus company nearly two weeks to source additional funds.

In addition to school buses, Lion Electric also manufacturers battery-electric Class 6 and 8 commercial trucks, and delivered the first all-electric tow truck in North America to a Canadian customer earlier this year.

Electrek’s Take

This is tough news for the industry. Especially as someone who lives near Lion Electric’s Illinois facility and who’s traveled there many times and made a few friends there, I’m hoping the company gets the help it needs to keep going – they seem so close to making it, and a few well-timed POs could make all the difference Lion needs to keep on trucking busing.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Financial Post; Lion Electric, via California HVIP.

On today’s exciting episode of Quick Charge, you can get steering column stalks on your Tesla, the Honda Prologue becomes the best-selling GM Ultium-based EV, a new electric Cobra surfaces, and more!

We’ve also got Chinese automakers using V2G technology to help Japan protect itself against Earthquakes, free home batteries in Texas, and a whole lot more.

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