Latest news with #AESC
Qatar Tribune
18 hours ago
- Automotive
- Qatar Tribune
AESC pauses $1.6 bn SC battery plant amid ‘uncertainty'
Agencies A Japanese company has halted construction on a $1.6 billion factory in South Carolina to help make batteries for electric BMWs, citing 'policy and market uncertainty.' While AESC didn't specify what those problems are, South Carolina's Republican governor said the company is dealing with the potential loss of federal tax breaks for electric vehicle buyers and incentives for EV businesses as well as tariff uncertainties from President Donald Trump's administration. 'What we're doing is urging caution — let things play out because all of the these changes are taking place,' Gov. Henry McMaster said. AESC announced the suspension in construction of its plant in Florence on Thursday, 'Due to policy and market uncertainty, we are pausing construction at our South Carolina facility at this time,' the company's statement said. AESC promised to restart construction, although it didn't say when, and vowed to meet its commitment to hire 1,600 workers and invest $1.6 billion. The company said it has already invested $1 billion in the Florence plant. The battery maker based in Japan also has facilities in China, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany. In the U.S., AESC has a plant in Tennessee and is building one in Kentucky. The statement didn't mention any changes with other plants. The South Carolina plant is supposed to sell battery cells to BMW, which is building its own battery assembly site near its giant auto plant in Greer. BMW said the construction pause by AESC doesn't change its plans to open its plant in 2026. AESC has already rolled back its South Carolina plans. They announced a second factory on the Florence site, but then said earlier this year that their first plant should be able to handle BMW's demand. That prompted South Carolina officials to withdraw $111 million in help they planned to provide. The company is still getting $135 million in grants from the South Carolina Department of Commerce and $121 million in bonds and the agency said a construction pause won't prompt them to claw back that offer. South Carolina is investing heavily in electric vehicles. Volkswagen-owned Scout Motors plans to invest more than $4 billion and hire 10,000 people for a plant to build its new electric SUVs scheduled to open in 2027. The state has for decades made big bets on foreign manufacturers like BMW, Michelin and Samsung that have paid off with an economic boom this century, but there is uneasiness that Trump's flirtation with high tariffs might stagger or even ruin those important partnerships.
Wall Street Journal
a day ago
- Automotive
- Wall Street Journal
A Chinese-owned Battery Plant in South Carolina Halts Construction
A Chinese-owned company is halting construction of an electric-vehicle battery plant in South Carolina, in part because of the Trump administration's tariffs and a potential loss of federal subsidies for clean energy. Automotive Energy Supply Corp., or AESC, began construction of the $1.6 billion factory in Florence in 2023, after securing a deal with BMW to make battery cells for the German automaker. In a message to employees on Thursday afternoon, AESC's top U.S. executive said the company was pausing construction work because of 'economic uncertainty arising from current federal policy and tax issues.' 'Our intent is to finish construction of the facility once stability and predictability have returned to the market,' Knudt Flor, AESC's chief executive for the U.S. and Europe, wrote in the memo. While construction of the physical buildings is nearly complete, the work of installing equipment and assembly lines has halted, said current and former employees. Some of the employees said AESC would face a hefty tariff bill for the machinery if they imported it now, because it is mostly brought in from China. Tariffs on Chinese imports have fluctuated wildly since April, rising to as high as 145%, before falling again amid a truce between Washington and Beijing as the two sides try to come to an agreement. Separately, tariffs on steel and aluminum recently announced by President Trump, as well as on machinery containing the metals, only adds to AESC's costs, two of the people said. Battery plants were already under pressure before Trump's election, because carmakers had delayed or walked back their plans for new electric vehicles. Billions of dollars were poured into building new battery factories in recent years, spurred on by the subsidies from the Biden administration. Many of these factories were constructed in the Midwest and Southeast of the U.S., in a region that came to be called the Battery Belt. Now many of those subsidies are being targeted by Republicans at the same time regulations and tax credits aimed at driving EV sales are also at risk. The current version of a tax bill before Congress would end EV battery production subsidies a year early and make them unavailable to companies with ties to certain countries, including China. AESC's headquarters is in Japan, but it is majority-owned by China's Envision Group, which purchased the battery-making unit of Japanese automaker Nissan in 2018. 'AESC has invested over $1 billion into the Florence facility, and we anticipate being able to resume construction once circumstances stabilize. AESC fully intends to meet our commitments to invest $1.6 billion and create 1,600 jobs in the coming years,' the company said. The AESC factory is supposed to supply battery cells to a new BMW factory in Woodruff, S.C. Under the original deal, these batteries were to power the German company's EV models that are expected to go into production starting in 2027. BMW said its plans to open the Woodruff plant next year, as planned. It referred any questions about the AESC factory to that company. Write to Christopher Otts at
Time of India
a day ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Billion-dollar battery plant pauses construction amid electric vehicle and tariff uncertainty
A Japanese company has halted construction on a $1.6 billion factory in South Carolina to help make batteries for electric BMWs, citing "policy and market uncertainty." While Automotive Energy Supply Corp. didn't specify what those problems are, South Carolina's Republican governor said the company is dealing with the potential loss of federal tax breaks for electric vehicle buyers and incentives for EV businesses as well as tariff uncertainties from President Donald Trump's administration. "What we're doing is urging caution - let things play out because all of the these changes are taking place," Gov. Henry McMaster said. AESC announced the suspension in construction of its plant in Florence on Thursday, "Due to policy and market uncertainty, we are pausing construction at our South Carolina facility at this time," the company's statement said. AESC promised to restart construction, although it didn't say when, and vowed to meet its commitment to hire 1,600 workers and invest $1.6 billion. The company said it has already invested $1 billion in the Florence plant. The battery maker based in Japan also has facilities in China, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany. In the U.S., AESC has a plant in Tennessee and is building one in Kentucky. The statement didn't mention any changes with other plants. The South Carolina plant is supposed to sell battery cells to BMW, which is building its own battery assembly site near its giant auto plant in Greer. BMW said the construction pause by AESC doesn't change its plans to open its plant in 2026. AESC has already rolled back its South Carolina plans. They announced a second factory on the Florence site, but then said earlier this year that their first plant should be able to handle BMW's demand. That prompted South Carolina officials to withdraw $111 million in help they planned to provide. The company is still getting $135 million in grants from the South Carolina Department of Commerce and $121 million in bonds and the agency said a construction pause won't prompt them to claw back that offer. South Carolina is investing heavily in electric vehicles. Volkswagen-owned Scout Motors plans to invest $2 billion and hire 4,000 people for a plant to build its new electric SUVs scheduled to open in 2027. The state has for decades made big bets on foreign manufacturers like BMW, Michelin and Samsung that have paid off with an economic boom this century, but there is uneasiness that Trump's flirtation with high tariffs might stagger or even ruin those important partnerships. McMaster told people to relax as state and business leaders are talking to Trump's administration and things will work out. "I think the goal of the president and the administration is to have robust economic growth and prosperity and there is no doubt there has to be changes made in our international trade posture and President Trump is addressing that," McMaster told reporters Thursday.
The Sun
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Billion-dollar battery plant pauses construction in US amid electric vehicle, tariff uncertainty
NEW YORK: A Japanese company has halted construction on a US$1.6 billion factory in South Carolina to help make batteries for electric BMWs, citing 'policy and market uncertainty,' reported Xinhua quoting the Associated Press. 'While Automotive Energy Supply Corp. (AESC) didn't specify what those problems are, South Carolina's Republican governor said the company is dealing with the potential loss of federal tax breaks for electric vehicle buyers and incentives for EV businesses as well as tariff uncertainties from President Donald Trump's administration,' noted the report. 'What we're doing is urging caution -- let things play out because all of these changes are taking place,' Governor Henry McMaster said. AESC announced the suspension in construction of its plant in Florence on Thursday. 'Due to policy and market uncertainty, we are pausing construction at our South Carolina facility at this time,' the company's statement said. AESC promised to restart construction, although it didn't say when, and vowed to meet its commitment to hire 1,600 workers and invest US$1.6 billion. The company said it has already invested US$1 billion in the Florence plant. The battery maker based in Japan also has facilities in China, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany. In the United States, AESC has a plant in Tennessee and is building one in Kentucky. The statement didn't mention any changes with other plants.
The Sun
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Billion-dollar battery plant pauses construction in US
NEW YORK: A Japanese company has halted construction on a US$1.6 billion factory in South Carolina to help make batteries for electric BMWs, citing 'policy and market uncertainty,' reported Xinhua quoting the Associated Press. 'While Automotive Energy Supply Corp. (AESC) didn't specify what those problems are, South Carolina's Republican governor said the company is dealing with the potential loss of federal tax breaks for electric vehicle buyers and incentives for EV businesses as well as tariff uncertainties from President Donald Trump's administration,' noted the report. 'What we're doing is urging caution -- let things play out because all of these changes are taking place,' Governor Henry McMaster said. AESC announced the suspension in construction of its plant in Florence on Thursday. 'Due to policy and market uncertainty, we are pausing construction at our South Carolina facility at this time,' the company's statement said. AESC promised to restart construction, although it didn't say when, and vowed to meet its commitment to hire 1,600 workers and invest US$1.6 billion. The company said it has already invested US$1 billion in the Florence plant. The battery maker based in Japan also has facilities in China, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany. In the United States, AESC has a plant in Tennessee and is building one in Kentucky. The statement didn't mention any changes with other plants.
